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Latest News
- NEW HAMPSHIRE-Prosposed Bill Creates Credit Against BPT
- ARIZONA-Proposed Bill Provides $70M to Qualifying Productions
- PUERTO RICO-Proposed Bill Would Repeal Film Incentive
- NEW YORK-Proposed Bill Includes Eligibility of Writing Fees for Tax Credit
- NEVADA-Proposed Bills Allow 23% Transferable Tax Credit and Payroll Tax Deduction
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NEVADA-Proposed Bills Allow 23% Transferable Tax Credit and Payroll Tax Deduction
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:26
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions a/o 3/8/13
Senate Bill 165 would allow for up to 23% transferable tax credits for qualifying projects filming 60% in the state, so long as the project exceeds $100,000, with a $1,000,000 per hire cap.
Senate Bill 172 would provide a deduction from the payroll tax for wages paid to newly hired full-time employees under certain circumstances.
Additional Information Courtesy of Cast & Crew's The Incentives Program a/o 3/1/13
- Require at least 60% of the qualified production to be produced in Nevada;
- Create transferable tax credit equal to 23% of qualified expenditures and production costs including payments to Nevada residents;
- Earn an additional 2% of qualified expenditures and production costs if more than 50% of below-the-line crew members are Nevada residents;
- Earn an additional 2% of qualified expenditures and production costs if more than 50% of filming days occurred in a Nevada county in which, in each of the two years preceding the application date, qualified productions incurred less than $10 million in direct expenditures;
- Earn a credit equal to 20% of payments made to above-the-line nonresident personnel;
- Earn a credit equal to 20% of payments made to below-the-line nonresident personnel from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2015; 15% in 2016; 10% in 2017; 5% in 2018; and no credit will be awarded for below-the-line nonresident labor costs in 2019 and thereafter;
- Compensation paid to Nevada resident producers may not exceed 10% (5% for nonresident producers) of the production's total budget;
- Compensation to any employee may not exceed $1 million;
- Impose a $50 million state annual cap for each fiscal year;
- If the entire $50 million is not awarded during the fiscal year, any remaining amounts may be rolled over to future fiscal years;
- Impose a $5 million per project cap;
- Require a minimum in-state spending requirement of $100,000;
- Require an application to be submitted no earlier than 90 days prior to the commencement of principal photography;
- This would not be a first-come, first-served incentive program. Priority would be given to qualified productions that promote tourism in Nevada;
- Require a qualified production to be completed within one year from the date principal photography commenced and all accountings and required information to be submitted to the Office of Economic Development no later than 30 days after the production's completion;
- Require qualified expenditures and production costs to be incurred in Nevada on or after the date in which the application is submitted; and,
- Require a CPA audit.
TENNESSEE-Current Film Incentive Temporarily Suspended in Favor of New Incentive Program
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:19
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
The January 2013 Performance Audit for the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission confirmed the Tennessee film incentive program has been temporarily suspended and agreed-upon-procedures will be established for future projects.
According to Bob Raines, director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission, Tennessee is moving forward with a new production incentive program, which was passed by the state legislature July 1, 2012. The governor has issued money in the 2013 budget for the program, and guidelines will be released this year. The film commission is working with experts in the industry to improve and streamline guidelines for the new incentive.
SOUTH CAROLINA-Proposed Bill Increases Rebate
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:17
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Finance (since January 8)
Senate Bill 163 proposes to increase a rebate to a motion picture production company from 15% to 20% of the total aggregate South Carolina payroll for persons subject to South Carolina tax withholdings. In addition, the bill would create a 25% rebate for South Carolina residents.
The bill also states that a rebate up to 30% of expenditures in South Carolina is available for motion picture production companies if there is a minimum local spend of at least $1,000,000.
NEW MEXICO-Proposed Bill Studies Effect of Tax Credit Effectiveness
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:11
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Currently Residing in the House Taxation & Revenue Committee
House Bill 490 proposes to allocate $50,000 in fiscal year 2014 to the state auditor's office in order to study the effect of the film production tax credit and the effectiveness of the cap on the tax credit.
NEW MEXICO-Proposed Bill Clarifies Aggregate Tax Credit Claims per Fiscal Year
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:09
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Currently Residing in the Senate Finance Committee
Senate Bill 468 clarifies that the aggregate amount of the film production tax credit claims that may be authorized for payment in any fiscal year is $50,000,000 with respect to the direct production expenditures or postproduction expenditures made on film or commercial audiovisual products.
This bill also clarifies placement in a queue at the start of the subsequent fiscal year if a film production is unable to receive the tax credit because the claims for the fiscal year exceed the $50,000,000 limitation.
Furthermore, SB 468 addresses specifics regarding credit claims authorized for payment pursuant to the Film Production Tax Credit Act stating that they will be paid pursuant to provisions of the Tax Administration Act to the taxpayer.
If passed, this bill will also require all productions to contain an acknowledgment in the end credits that the production was filmed in New Mexico and long-form narrative productions must also include a state logo in the end credits unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the production company and film office.
This bill also specifies that a production company must make reasonable efforts to contract with vendors that have a physical presence in New Mexico and that provide goods, inventory, or services directly related to that vendor's ordinary course of business. It clarifies that costs of subcontracted goods and services that are not subject to taxation but are provided by a vendor with a physical presence in New Mexico, such as equipment and locations provided by the military, government and religious organizations are not direct production expenditures.
The bill, if passed, would allow the cost of nonresidents providing services related to off-camera industry job positions (where it is standard industry practice to employ those individuals) to qualify as direct production expenditures if the nonresident is hired or subcontracted by a vendor with a physical presence in New Mexico and the production company provides reasonable efforts to hire resident crew and provides financial or in-kind contributions toward education or work-force development efforts.
NEW MEXICO-"Breaking Bad Bill" Passed by House; Senate & Governor Pending
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:06
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
House Bill 379 passed in New Mexico House of Representatives. According to the office of Representative Maestas (sponsor of HB 379), the bill came before the Senate Finance Committee March 5; optimally it will be through the Senate floor the same week, and by the end of the week it will go to the Governor. The Representative's office is hoping that it will be signed into law as early as the week of March 8, 2013.
For qualifying productions, the percentage to be applied in calculating the amount of the film production tax credit is 25%. With respect to expenditures attributable to a production for which the film production company receives a tax credit pursuant to the federal new markets tax credit program, the percentage to be applied in calculating the film production tax credit is 20%.
In addition to the 25% credit for qualifying projects, another 5% credit may apply to qualified direct New Mexico production expenditures for both film and television projects. The bill references television ("a series television production intended for commercial distribution with an order for at least six episodes in a single season...or that spends at least $500,000 on building, rigging, and lighting of at least one set in New Mexico") and production guidelines ("a production with a total budget of less than $30,000,000 that shoots at least ten principal photography days at a qualified production facility in New Mexico, or on a production with a total budget of more than $30,000,000 that shoots at least 15 principal photography days at a qualified production facility in New Mexico, and provided that this additional credit shall only apply to New Mexico resident crew expenses"), that would meet the qualification criteria for this additional 5% tax credit.
MONTANA-Proposed Bills would Repeal all Production Incentives or Increase Current Credit
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:59
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Voted in the House, tied at 10-10; tabled for now.
HB 480 Proposes the following changes to the current incentive program:
- Define "Montana production budget" as qualified expenditures and compensation paid to Montana resident employees.
- Increase the tax credit from 14% to 20% of the first $50,000 in wages paid to each Montana resident.
- Provide for a tax credit equal to 25% of the first $50,000 in wages paid to each Montana resident for productions that have a "Montana production budget" greater than $1,000,000 and have a workforce in which 20% or more are Montana residents.
- Increase the tax credit from 9% to 20% of total qualified expenditures.
- Provide for a tax credit equal to 25% of total qualified expenditures for productions that have a "Montana production budget" greater than $1,000,000 and have a workforce in which 20% or more are Montana residents.
- Provide a state annual cap of $10,000,000.
- Eliminate the sunset date.
House Bill 282 would repeal all production incentives if passed.
MISSOURI-Proposed Bills Could Eliminate Tax Credits or Decrease Cap
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:54
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
House Bill 422 would eliminate all tax credits after December 31, 2013. The bill would also require any previously issued tax credits be redeemed before January 1, 2016 (except for the food pantry tax credit and the pregnancy resource center tax credit which must be redeemed before January 1, 2015).
House Bill 671 proposes that all tax credits in the film incentive program shall sunset effective August 28, 2013, and that tax credits issued on or before August 28, 2013, shall be redeemed on or before December 1, 2016.
Senate Bill 387 proposes decreasing the annual cap for state production incentives from $4,500,000 to $3,500,000, effective January 1, 2014, and each subsequent calendar year until the new sunset date, December 31, 2018.
MISSISSIPPI-Proposed Bill Expands Definition of Eligible Productions
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:51
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Passed by the State Senate
Senate Bill 2462 proposes the following changes to the current incentive program:
- Expand the definition of an eligible production to include computer or video games.
- Increase the amount of salaries which are eligible for the incentive from the first $1,000,000 to the first $5,000,000 of each resident and nonresident subject to withholding.
- Provide for an additional rebate equal to 5% of wages paid to an employee who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces and is subject to Mississippi withholding tax.
- Increase the per project cap from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000.
- Extend the sunset date on the nonresident labor incentive through June 30, 2016.
MINNESOTA-Proposed Bill Increases Rebate; Includes Non-Resident ATL & Post as Qualified Costs
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:49
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Senate Bill 352 proposes the following changes to the current incentive program:
- Increase the rebate from 20% to 25% of production costs for productions located outside the metropolitan area or that incur production costs in excess of $5,000,000 within a 12-month period.
- Increase the rebate from 15% to 20% of production costs for productions that incur production costs of $5,000,000 or less in the metropolitan area within a 12-month period.
- Include the costs of above-the-line nonresident talent and postproduction as qualified production costs.
- Clarify that TV or Internet pilots, programs, and series are eligible productions.
- Allocate $10,000,000 to the film production rebate program for the 2014 fiscal year.
MICHIGAN-Legislature Negotiated an Increase of $25M to 2013 Cap
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:46
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
The legislature negotiated an increase of $25,000,000 to the 2013 cap imposed by Governor Snyder. The current allotment for 2013 is currently $50,000,000, plus $8,000,000 remaining from 2012. Recently, Governor Snyder stated he intends to cap the 2014 allotment at $25,000,000.
MASSACHUSETTS-Proposed Bill Seeks to Cap Tax Credit
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:43
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
House Bill 1 includes the Massachusetts Governor's proposed budget, which seeks to cap the annual outlay of the film tax credit at $40,000,000.
House Bill 2526 proposes to require at least 50% of a motion picture production company's total aggregate payroll consist of Massachusetts residents in order for the company to receive the full 25% tax credit. Otherwise, only a 15% tax credit will be credited.
MARYLAND-Proposed Bill Increases Tax Credit
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:40
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
Senate Bill 183 proposes the available tax credit be increased from the current $7,500,000 to $25,000,000 beginning July 1, 2013. The available tax credit will decrease to $7,500,000 for the 2015 fiscal year (begins July 1, 2014) and 2016 fiscal year (begins July 1, 2015).
To qualify, a film production entity must have an estimated total direct cost in excess of $500,000.
Qualifying films would receive a tax credit certificate for 25% of the total direct costs that qualify for the tax credit. Qualifying television series would receive a tax credit certificate for 27% of the total direct costs that qualify for the tax credit.
The sunset date of the tax credit would be extended to July 1, 2016.
KENTUCKY-Proposed Bill Makes Tax Credit Non-Refundable & Non-Transferable
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 19:38
Courtesy of EP Financial Solutions3/8/13
House Bill 142 would make the film industry tax credit nonrefundable and nontransferable for corporate taxes. Kentucky currently offers refundable credit.
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