THE INCENTIVES PROGRAM - TIP

Senate Bill 1098 proposes to appropriate $1 million to the Minnesota Film and TV Board’s Film  Production Jobs Program for the biennium ending June 30, 2025.

House Bill 348 proposes to amend the Montana Media Production tax credit program as follows:

Beginning January 1, 2022:

• Requires that at least 50% of the cast and crew, excluding extras and five principal cast members, be residents in order to qualify for any of the additional incentive bumps.

*This bill is no longer under consideration*

• • House Bill 283 proposes to amend the New Mexico Film Production tax credit program as follows: Beginning July 1, 2021:
    • Excludes from the incentive program a “film” that contains or displays sexually explicit conduct, as defined, and is what most parents would clearly consider too adult for their children aged 17 and under.

Assembly Bill 1390 proposes to amend the Empire State film production tax credit program as follows:

• Allows fees and salaries for television writers and directors to qualify subject to the following requirements and limitations:
  • Writer or director must be a New York resident;
  • Qualifying fees and salaries are limited to:
    • Up to $50,000 per episode for each writer and director receiving on-air credit;
    • Up to $75,000 per series of episodes for each uncredited writer or director, provided the writer or director is a minority group member, as defined, or a woman; and,
  • Limits the aggregate amount of credits the state may disburse related to writers’ fees and salaries to $5 million per calendar year.

Senate Bill 4799 proposes to amend the Empire State Film Production Tax Credit Program as follows:

• Expands the definition of “production costs” to include:
  • Feature film or television production writers’ fees and salaries, up to $50,000 per writer on a single qualified project, provided the writer is subject to taxation in New York; and,
  • Costs for a story, script, or scenario used for a qualified “film”;
• Requires that when more than three writers are to be hired for an eligible production, at least one writer must be a minority group member (as defined), or a woman, when applying for the above-mentioned writers’ credits; and,
• Limits the aggregate amount of credits the state may disburse related to writers’ fees and salaries to $5 million per calendar year.

If passed, the Act shall take effect April 1, 2022.

House Bill 3244 proposes to amend the Oregon Production Investment Fund by increasing the annual funding cap from $14 million to $20 million per fiscal year (7/1 – 6/30).

House Bill 141 and Senate Bill 736 propose to amend the Tennessee Job Tax Credit as follows:

• Establishes a tax credit (to be taken against franchise and excise taxes) equal to 40 percent of qualified payroll expenses, or 50% if qualified payroll expenses are associated with Tennesseans whose primary residence is within tier 2, tier 3, or tier 4 enhancement counties;
• Limits the amount of the credit to not more than 50% of the combined franchise and excise tax liability shown on the return before any credit is taken; and,
• Creates a sales and use tax exemption for purchasing or using tangible personal property, computer software, or services that are necessary to and primarily used for a qualified production.

Senate Bill 167 proposes to amend the Utah Motion Picture rebate program by increasing the annual funding from $6.79 million to $10 million per fiscal year (7/1 – 6/30), beginning with the 2022 fiscal year.

House Bill 2096 and Senate Bill 455 propose to reenact and amend the West Virginia Film Industry Investment Act.  Details of the programs are as follows:

• Establishes a transferable tax credit equal to 27 percent of qualified spend and labor (includes resident and nonresident labor that is subject to West Virginia income tax);
  • An additional credit equal to 4 percent on total qualified spend is offered to productions that hire at least ten West Virginia residents as part of its full-time employees working in the state or as apprentices;
• Establishes an annual funding cap of $10 million per fiscal year (7/1 – 6/30);
  • Allows the development office to allocate a greater amount of credit for any feature length film produced with “West Virginia” in the title or if the subject of the film is clearly identified with the state;
• Requires a minimum spend of $50,000 in qualified expenditures; and,
• Requires an expense verification report prepared by an independent certified public accountant.