City Uses Up Tax Credits, Will Productions Flee?

Fade to black! Looks like we're going to have to get used to some faux New York in our films and television shows: the state's tax credit program has run out of funds. It was Spitzer who proposed the new budget in early 2008, which started to bring more productions to the city, but it was just announced that the $515 million allocated through 2013 has already been spent. According to the LA Times "studios that contemplated shooting movies and TV series in New York are looking instead to places such as New Jersey, Illinois and Canada instead." Crain's reports that Fringe, Life on Mars, and Damages are already considering pulling out of the city, and it's being reportred that Silvercup Studios haven't signed on any new TV shows or movies. The Queens Gazette reports that "new allocations must come from the state legislature as an emergency allocation or be included in next year's budget, which is supposed to be approved by April 1."

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By Jen Carlson in News on February 12, 2009 5:32 PM

Comments [rss]

JacqueMehoff

let this tax credit expire,

have the industry prove they're using local businesses, employees and products. and giving back to the local community.

don't let them fool you. they're already used up all their alloted credits and wanting more. when will it end?

Lolita

Maybe NY could cut the tax credit down 10%. I think it would be stupid to cut it completely--the film and TV industry bring $5 billion a year to New York's economy and yes, mostly this would affect the people who are lower on the rungs or people who are just getting their first jobs on productions (like me.)

I'm constantly astounded with how much it costs to produce/film a movie, but $515 million is nothing. If Spitzer or whoever thought that was going to be enough to last them through five years or so, then they were severely mistaken.

Don't force me to move to L.A., New York. I don't deserve that.

inoyourider

SIgn the petition!

www.petitiononline.com/Zablock...

capnbadger

Letting the tax credit expire is the ultimate in pennywise thinking. The credit has more than paid for itself by attracting more work to the city and state. Read the Crain's article:

"The tax incentives have been wildly successful in bringing productions to New York. According to a 2007 study by Ernst and Young, the state and city combined have issued $690 million in tax credits and have collected $2.7 billion in taxes from movie and television productions. In 2007, it helped create more than 7,000 jobs directly and over 12,000 jobs indirectly."

ides_of_march

Lots of rich people in showbiz. I keep hearing they don't pay their fair share, what's the problem?

Felix Hoenikker

There can be only ONE!

JacqueMehoff

but the days of Sex and the City are over.

how about the talent/producers take a pay cut?

gamblor

Talent and "producer" costs are not the bulk of the budget for most films or tv shows. The vast, vast majority of the millions that a film or a tv show spends on shooting goes into local crew, local vendors, and local studios, all of which creates jobs and generates tax revenue for the city and state. And this doesn't just affect big "Hollywood" productions either. Mid-sized, independent films were taking advantage of these tax credits as well, letting them make movies in NYC that might not have been feasible otherwise. It wasn't as though they were handing out free lunches that everyone took a piece of and ran with either. Every time a new production came to New York, it brought tons of jobs and business with it. This program's more than paid for itself and it should be renewed asap.

The Edge

But that would make sense, you see.

And nothing Hollywood does makes sense.

ianmac47

The cultural capital generated from the city's appearance in film and television probably more than paid for the tax credits, to say nothing of the real jobs created.

grandeur

This is NOT good for the economy.

Anyone know who I can write to? Is there a petition yet?

JacqueMehoff

this is great news.

it appears they just wanted the money and left.

685 million that was supposed to last till 2013 gone in less than 4 yrs.