Domestic Competition for Productions Growing Fiercer

Every state and their mother seems to be passing new tax incentives to lure film and TV productions. It seems that simply to stay in the game, a state must offer incentives. Here's a quick roundup of some of the latest measures passed:

• Florida: Raised overall cap for 15% refundable production tax credit from $2.45 million to $10 million for FY05-06
• Georgia: 9-12% transferable refundable tax credit
• Illinois: Renewed 25% rebate on resident wages paid
• Maine: Full rebate of Maine taxes paid on wages of non-residents, and 200% rebate of Maine taxes paid on resident wages
• Montana: 12% rebate on resident wages paid, 8% rebate on MT expenditures
• New Mexico: Upped rebate from 15% to up to 20%; doubled film loan cap from $7.5 to $15M; expanded refundable credit to post production, video games and film technologies
• North Carolina: 15% refundable tax credit (promised, but not officially passed yet)
• Oklahoma: 15% refundable tax credit finally got funded with $5 million per year cap; income tax credit equal to 25% of profits from OK film/TV/music investment if profits reinvested in same; tax credits for development of film and music production facilities (passed legislature, awaiting gov's signature)
• South Carolina: 15% refundable tax credit on wages w/SC taxes withheld and expenditures with SC vendors
• PLUS, other locales like Rhode Island, Oregon, and Los Angeles County are currently mulling over incentives.

Here's why everyone's so eager to pass film & TV production incentives:

• Illinois: Tripled production from $25 million in 2003 to $77 million in 2004. Nearly 15,000 jobs were created. Major films shot in IL in 2004 included The Weather Man (Paramount), Ice Harvest (Universal), Ocean’s 12 and Batman Begins (Warner Brothers), Derailed (Miramax), and Roll Bounce (20th Century Fox).
  >> Gov. Blagojevich's landmark film legislation renewed [IL Gov, 5/31/05]
• Louisiana: In 2002, annual production expenditures were just $20 million. That grew to $210 million in 2003 and $335 million in 2004. Major recent productions include Runaway Jury, Ray, The Haunted Mansion, and the upcoming Fantastic Four, All the King's Men, The Skeleton Key, and Dukes of Hazzard. Overwhelmed with the enormous response from productions, the Louisiana Legislature is currently refining its current incentives to make them more state-specific.
  >> Louisiana Film Legislation Passes Senate Committee [BayouBuzz.com, 6/13/05]
• New Mexico: Annual production expenditures went from just $8.8 million to over $200 million, and the local film crew labor pool followed suit. Major productions lured by incentives included 21 Grams, The Missing, The Longest Yard, Into the West, and the upcoming Brokeback Mountain and Niki Caro's (Whale Rider) next film.
  >> New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Signs Bills to Boost Film Industry [NM Gov, 5/9/05]
• New York: The "Made in NY" tax-incentive program brought an additional $300 million to the city and employed 6,000 locals since January 2005. The city's $5 billion per year film and television production industry supports 4,000 ancillary businesses. Major productions lured by the incentives include Spike Lee's The Inside Man, Martin Scorsese's The Departed (set in Boston!), Mel Brooks' The Producers, and 9 network TV pilots (prior to the incentives, NYC would only see 1 pilot per year).
  >> Tax incentives attract Lee [FilmStew, 6/9/05]
  >> It's a taxing situation as Brooklyn poaches Southie [Boston Herald, 6/1/05]
  >> Lights, camera, millions! [Newsday, 5/25/05]