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A Bipartisan Film And TV Tax Credit Is Finally Here
Lights, camera, cash // Image by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E
Bipartisan lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives introduced the first-ever federal film and TV tax credit — the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act.
The Big Picture: Hollywood and the broader entertainment industry have been clamoring for a federal tax credit for years, especially as an estimated 60% of productions now shoot outside the US. That shift has decimated the livelihoods of blue-collar production workers in cities like LA and Atlanta. Its passage could be revolutionary not just for the viability of these jobs, but also for the projects studios greenlight.
Behind The Scenes: After years of losing productions to countries like Canada, the UK, and Romania, the US is finally getting its best chance yet to bring productions home.
Here are some highlights from the bill:
If at least three-fourths of a movie, TV pilot, or TV season with a budget over $1 million is shot anywhere in America, it’ll qualify for a minimum 20% tax credit on workers’ wages, including those of directors, actors, boom operators, and editors.
That uncapped credit can go up to 30% of the budget if projects “film in certain rural or disaster areas, produce projects in 10 or more states, or take certain steps to increase domestic filming,” according to NYT.
The credit can also be stacked with individual state subsidies (about three dozen states offer them), which could allow some projects to recoup over half of qualifying costs.
Final Credits: In these divided political times, it’s incredible that there is so much bipartisan support on this issue, which is being positioned as an American jobs issue in desperate need of solving. After actor Jon Voight and partners in his camp showed President Trump the data on runaway production, he expressed support for a federal tax incentive. At that point, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who has been working on the issue for years, and several other lawmakers began working on a proposal that has broad backing from Hollywood’s various unions.
That’s an unprecedented amount of momentum just as Hollywood is getting its footing again after COVID, the streaming implosion, and the dual strikes of 2023.
Coming Soon: There’s still a long road to getting this bill passed — especially in an election year — but a job market that feels like quicksand under everyone’s feet could help push it over the finish line. The momentum is reason to be optimistic.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.