There has been a lot of good news about the effectiveness of the California tax incentive program to keep film production in our state. The LA County Economic Development Corp. announced that the incentive program pumped $3.8 billion into the California economy and created 20,000 jobs in the last two years.
Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes from Sylmar proposed a bill to extend the program for five years after the current program expires in 2014. The bill has passed the Assembly, and goes before the Senate in the next two weeks.
Call your State Senator and tell him or her that you want them to support the proposed legislation. It's a pretty fair bet that senators from LA County will support it. The question is, will the senators in other districts support it? Do they get it? Do they understand that the program benefits all of California?
By the way, Larry Crowne with Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts was filmed in our back yard. So let's support Hanks and his Playtone Production Company.
Sharon
Showing posts with label Tax Incentive Programs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tax Incentive Programs. Show all posts
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Who Received a Piece of the Pie?
Earlier this month, the California Film Commission, headed up by Amy Lemisch, announced which productions would receive a piece of the California Tax Incentive Program.
The breakdown of projects selected (based on type of production) is as follows:
- Feature (Studio) -- 4 projects (14.8%)
- Feature (Indie) -- 10 projects (37%)
- TV Series -- 10 projects (37%)
- MOW (Studio) -- 0
- MOW (Indie) -- 1 (3.7%)
- Relocating TV -- 2 (7.40%)
Based on information provided by each applicant, it is estimated that these projects will
spend more than $662 million in California, including nearly $234 million in qualified wages.
They will employ an estimated 3,048 cast members, 3,307 crew members and 49,778
extras/stand-ins (calculated in "man-days").
Interesting footnote to this latest distribution of funds is that a hefty portion went to TV productions. One of them, Body of Proof, which looks to have a long run, moved their production from Rhode Island when that state discontinued/cut back their incentive program. As other states reevaluate the cost/benefit of their own incentive programs, there will continue to be an industry on the move. Can we get the hens back in the hen house? Time will tell.
Sharon
The breakdown of projects selected (based on type of production) is as follows:
- Feature (Studio) -- 4 projects (14.8%)
- Feature (Indie) -- 10 projects (37%)
- TV Series -- 10 projects (37%)
- MOW (Studio) -- 0
- MOW (Indie) -- 1 (3.7%)
- Relocating TV -- 2 (7.40%)
Based on information provided by each applicant, it is estimated that these projects will
spend more than $662 million in California, including nearly $234 million in qualified wages.
They will employ an estimated 3,048 cast members, 3,307 crew members and 49,778
extras/stand-ins (calculated in "man-days").
Interesting footnote to this latest distribution of funds is that a hefty portion went to TV productions. One of them, Body of Proof, which looks to have a long run, moved their production from Rhode Island when that state discontinued/cut back their incentive program. As other states reevaluate the cost/benefit of their own incentive programs, there will continue to be an industry on the move. Can we get the hens back in the hen house? Time will tell.
Sharon
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tax Credits have Generated $2.2 Billion in Economic Activity
There was a hearing on Friday about the effectiveness of the state’s film and television tax credit program. It was led by State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge), chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Preservation of California’s Entertainment Industry.
This all came from an article written by Joe Piasecki in the LA Times.
State tax credits designed to keep film and television shoots from leaving California have generated $2.2 billion in economic activity since 2009, according to testimony given Friday during a public hearing in Pasadena. Since the summer of 2009, the state has issued $300 million in tax credits to film and television companies in order to compete with incentives offered by other states and countries that over the past decade have lured billions in industry spending away from California.
“California’s film industry is under threat, and its dominance has been threatened for at least 10 years. We no longer take this industry for granted,” said Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission, which administers the tax credit program.
Lemisch argued that film and television shoots stimulate the state economy by spending $100,000 or more per day per on-location shoot in California. The short-lived FX series “Terriers,” for example, spent $16.4 million filming one season of episodes in San Diego, she said.
In total, the state’s tax incentive program has resulted in 116 projects spending an estimated $2.2 billion filming in California rather than in other states and countries. That figure includes $728 million in wages to below-the-line workers (basically everyone but actors, directors, writers and producers).
“We’re talking about something that’s not just Los Angeles-centric,” Portantino said in reaction to those numbers, which included shoots that took place throughout the state.
Sounds like the advocates for continuing/expanding California's tax incentive program did a good job on Friday, now is anyone listening?
Sharon
This all came from an article written by Joe Piasecki in the LA Times.
State tax credits designed to keep film and television shoots from leaving California have generated $2.2 billion in economic activity since 2009, according to testimony given Friday during a public hearing in Pasadena. Since the summer of 2009, the state has issued $300 million in tax credits to film and television companies in order to compete with incentives offered by other states and countries that over the past decade have lured billions in industry spending away from California.
“California’s film industry is under threat, and its dominance has been threatened for at least 10 years. We no longer take this industry for granted,” said Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission, which administers the tax credit program.
Lemisch argued that film and television shoots stimulate the state economy by spending $100,000 or more per day per on-location shoot in California. The short-lived FX series “Terriers,” for example, spent $16.4 million filming one season of episodes in San Diego, she said.
In total, the state’s tax incentive program has resulted in 116 projects spending an estimated $2.2 billion filming in California rather than in other states and countries. That figure includes $728 million in wages to below-the-line workers (basically everyone but actors, directors, writers and producers).
“We’re talking about something that’s not just Los Angeles-centric,” Portantino said in reaction to those numbers, which included shoots that took place throughout the state.
Sounds like the advocates for continuing/expanding California's tax incentive program did a good job on Friday, now is anyone listening?
Sharon
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