NEWS
Posted 6 October, 2007 in MT News
http://www.movingpicturesmagazine.com/departments/onlocation/bigskycountrybeckons
Posted 6 October, 2007 in MT News
Montana Offers Improved Tax Incentives to the Film Industry
The Big Sky on the Big Screen Act enhanced by Montana Legislature
(HELENA, MT) – Montana’s unparalleled scenery and distinctive culture has made Big Sky Country a choice location for countless productions, and now improved tax incentives are giving the film industry a new reason to put the Big Sky back on the Big Screen.
This spring the Montana State Legislature passed a measure to improve the already successful Big Sky on the Big Screen Act, backed by Governor Brian Schweitzer. The new tax incentive package provides film companies larger tax incentives on production expenditures incurred while on location in Montana, and encourages large scale productions by eliminating a cap on the credits.
“The new and improved Big Sky on the Big Screen Act has made Montana an even more desirable destination for filmmakers,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “Montana is like no other, she’s the epitome of the west and her diverse attributes speak for themselves. Whether or not her name is in the credits, Montana is always the biggest star.”
Governor Brian Schweitzer signed the improved Big Sky on the Big Screen Act into law on May 3, 2007. Highlights of the enhanced legislation include:
• 14% rebate on all Montana labor hired for film production
• 9% rebate on all production-related Montana expenditures including lodging, equipment rental, fuel, lumber, and construction materials
• No Cap and No Minimum Spend
A further incentive for filmmakers is that Montana has no sales tax. Since no paperwork or rebate is needed, this savings is realized immediately.
Montana maintains a large crew base of experienced film professionals, who work year around on features and national TV commercials. The crew base is also being added to
(more)
each year thanks to an excellent film and media arts program at Montana State University in Bozeman.
For more than 100 years, Montana locations have been helping filmmakers tell their stories. Movies have captured the grandeur of Montana’s landscapes, the character of its people, and the untold stories tucked between its mountain peaks and scattered across its prairies.
Montana has doubled for Switzerland, Oklahoma, and Afghanistan, and is well known for its unspoiled and diverse landscapes of mountains, rivers, lakes, badlands, and prairies. Movies like, A River Runs Through It, The Horse Whisperer, Northfork, Hidalgo, and Don’t Come Knocking have featured many of Montana’s tales and much of its scenery, but there are plenty of cinematic treasures still waiting for the spotlight.
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by BASHIRAH MUTTALIB
This time it’s a wrap. North Carolina’s Gov. Mike Easley signed House Bill 1522, making official the state’s 15% refundable tax credit on goods, services and labor for film and TV productions.While the delay of the bill — originally skedded for passage last year (Daily Variety, June 15, 2005) — may have temporarily stymied production, the state still reaped $300 million in film and TV production revenue last year.
“This legislation is critical to strengthening the movie and television production business in North Carolina,” Easley said.
It is also designed to keep the state in step with regional neighbors like South Carolina, which also offers a healthy 15% rebate.
With the bill’s signing, some productions have “refocused their sights on us now that the picture has changed,” according to Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission.
North Carolina film and TV production revenue increased nearly 22% last year and accounted for 22,000 jobs, according to the state’s Dept. of Commerce.
Columbia Pictures’ “Talladega Nights” was shot in Charlotte and Rockingham last year, and the WB’s “One Tree Hill” — which moves to the CW for its fourth season — is lensing at Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington.
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Rocky Mountain High … Montana. That state’s expansive landscape has become more accessible to film production with the Big Sky on the Big Screen Act, an incentive package initiated by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
The act, a first in the state’s filming history, offers a 12% rebate based on Montana labor hires and applies to the first $50,000 in wages paid per resident.
Productions can also take an 8% rebate on qualified expenditures for production budget costs, including but not limited to hotel and lodging, production equipment rental, fuel costs, expendables, lumber/construction materials, vehicle rentals and food and catering costs. The incentives apply to all types of film, video or TV production.
Montana has no sales tax, which can also be a significant factor in on-location shoots.
“The state and federal tax incentives, coupled with an able crew base, a willing film office and diverse locations, will make Montana a heavyweight contender in the fight to attract production money back to the United States,” said Christopher Cronyn, film producer and vice chair of the Montana Film and Television Advisory Council.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117948261.html
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