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Recent News & Updates
January 24, 2012
EP Sponsored Women in Film (WIF) in Park City 2012

January 16, 2012
EP Incentive Solutions Update Available

January 13, 2012
EP Incentive Solutions Update Available

January 11, 2012
W-2 Hotline Now Active

December 8, 2011
Joseph Chianese Moderated 411 Publishing Webinar on Post Production Incentives

PRODUCTION INCENTIVES

NEWSLETTER - December 2009


  • Tools for 2010
  • What's New at EP?
  • Updates by Jurisdiction
  • Maximize Your Incentives with EP
  • Upcoming Appearances

Tools for 2010

2009, 2nd Edition of The Essential Guide*NEW* The Essential Guide to U.S. & International Production Incentives, 2010, 1st Edition, edited by Joseph Chianese, Marco Cordova, and Barbara Rosenfeld, is available for PRE-ORDER. Contact our group to order your copy at no charge. The new edition will be premiered at the EP headquarters in the New York Lounge at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. See Upcoming Appearances below for more details.

Monthly Production Incentives Email Updates Archive of previous newsletters is now available. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.

Follow the EP Production Incentives Group on Twitter for instant updates on incentives and events at www.twitter.com/filmincentives.

Recent Updates, as of December 29, 2009, have been posted to the website.

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What's New at EP

New Website  
Introducing EP Incentive Solutions, our comprehensive suite of service offerings covering all aspects of the production incentives arena. The expert service you have come to depend upon from the EP team has now been taken one step further with the release of a totally revamped website. Visit www.epincentivesolutions.com for the most up-to-date incentives information, including a new extensive glossary covering types of incentives, eligibility criteria, benefit limits and other key issues to consider. Be sure to check out the Comparison Tool which you can use to compare up to three different jurisdictions.

EPPS Preferred Vendor List
Preferred vendor lists are now available for EPPS Purchasing, Inc., which provides production equipment and supplies, at competitive rates, in certain states to help maximize your production incentives. Please contact Marco Cordova at 818.955.6278 regarding our EPPS Purchasing, Inc., services.

Want to be a preferred EPPS Purchasing, Inc., vendor? Please contact Mary Ann McBride at 412.956.7325 for more information.

EP Incentive Solutions
Please contact EP's production incentives specialists by email or by phone at 818.955.6216 if you have any questions regarding your next production. We can help you budget your next production and find the most beneficial incentives at no charge. We also provide fee-based services for production incentives administration, finance facilitation, corporate-structure planning, and agreed-upon consulting projects. Visit our Services section for more information and contact information for our EP Incentive Solutions specialists.

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Updates by Jurisdiction

U.S. Updates
For more information on incentives in each state, visit the U.S. Overview on our website and
click on the state of interest.

U.S FEDERAL
An extenders bill has been passed by the House, including IRC Section 181. Due to time constraints, the Senate is not expected to pass it until next year, on a retroactive basis.

CALIFORNIA - Los Angeles
Mayor Villaraigosa is focusing on jobs in three sectors, including the entertainment industry. The city is renewing efforts to prevent jobs from leaving. It is expected to be easier to film on city properties, among other possibilities. (See news article).

FLORIDA
A statewide jobs summit in January 2010 will look at whether film prouduction might create jobs (see news article).

GEORGIA
The Department of Revenue published proposed Film Tax Credit Rules, which are awaiting adoption and certification by the Commissioner. The Secretary of State will provide the effective date.

HAWAII
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism's Creative Industries Division (CID), which houses the Hawaii Film Office, will continue to provide the core services and functions of film permitting, production servicing, tax incentive co-management and the marketing and operations of the Hawaii Film Studio. Georja Skinner, the former Maui film commissioner, and her staff can be reached through Creative Industries or the Film Office. A PDF is available with more information on how the Film Office functions within the Creative Industries Division.

IOWA
Governor Culver lifted the suspension of the state's film incentive for projects already registered and in progress or completed. Projects that have not already received "award letters" from the state will not be considered for tax credits this fiscal year. Sixty-eight proposed film projects are eligible to start negotiating contracts for film incentives, with a $50 million cap for this year. No new projects will be approved until the Legislature and the Governor review and re-evaluate the program. (See Des Moines Register news article, Sioux City Journal news article, Quad-City Times news article, and LegalNewsline.com article).

MICHIGAN
The Department of Treasury issued a new FAQ regarding when an eligible production company can claim a film production tax credit. The FAQ clarifies confusion regarding the requirement for, and time line for processing, the "Post-Production Certificate of Completion Request." Click here for a full list of Michigan Business Tax Film Credit FAQs.

NORTH CAROLINA
Governor Perdue signed an executive order reauthorizing the N.C. Film Council. The order adds duties to the council that include assisting in the development of the film industry and supporting incentives. (See news article.)

OKLAHOMA
Jill Simpson, Director of the Oklahoma Film and Music Office has asked the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee to remove the annual $5 million incentive cap (see news article).

PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania is now accepting applications for projects that qualify for the Creativity in Film Tax Credit program. Qualified projects will be awarded credits available under the $60 million tax credit allocation available for FY 2010-2011 (the $42 million allocation of tax credits has been fully subscribed).

Applicants may apply for FY 2010-2011 tax credits at any time not more than 90 days prior to the start of principal photography; that is, projects may begin production prior to the commencement of that fiscal year. However, tax credit certificates for such projects will not be awarded until the first day of FY 2010-2011 (July 1, 2010) or completion of all requirements for issuance of the tax credit, whichever is later. Further information is available from the Pennsylvania Film Office.

The Department of Community and Economic Development is in the process of finalizing the Film Tax Credit Program Guidelines.


International Updates

For more information on incentives around the world, visit the International Overview page on our website and click on the region or country of interest.

AUSTRALIA
Ausfilm is reported to be preparing a strategy to stimulate international demand through co-productions, amidst speculation that it will request a short-term increase in the 15% location offset (see The Australian news article and Variety news article).

CANADA - Ontario
The Ontario Government has enacted Bill 218, which expands the Production Services Tax Credit to 25% of qualifying labor and qualifying production costs incurred in Ontario. The law is retroactive to expenditures incurred after June 30, 2009.

CAYMAN ISLANDS
The Cayman Islands Film Commission (CIFC) has published Guidelines and the Claim Application for the film production rebate.

FRANCE
The official publication of the regulations establishing the Tax Rebate for International Productions was released on December 1, 2009. Implementation of the law is retroactive to January 1, 2009.

GEORGIA
As part of the country's new "film friendliness program, the National Film Center has posted a questionnaire regarding a proposed uncapped cash rebate of 25% of qualified local spend (see AFP news article and Telegraph news article).

GREECE
Disappointment over "outdated film funding laws" and the absence of production incentives similar to those found across the European Union resulted in cancellation of the Greek State Film Awards. The new culture and tourism minister pledged to work on a film law. (See news article.)

INDIA
The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has sought a 10-year tax holiday from the Finance Ministry for the animation, gaming, and visual effects (VFX) industry, as well as other customs and tax benefits. (See news article.)

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Maximizing Your Incentives with EP

Entertainment Partners has purchased Workers' Compensation policies from local brokers throughout the United States to help maximize your production incentives! Listed below are those production incentives states where EP currently has a local policy.

  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas

More policies to be announced soon!

EP Incentive StatesEntertainment Partners has an office in each of the following states to help maximize your production incentives (more to open soon!):

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Florida
  • Georgia *
  • Illinois
  • Louisiana **
  • Michigan ***
  • Massachusetts
  • New Mexico ****
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania *****
  • South Carolina
  • Utah



* EP and EPPS Purchasing, Inc., have a full-time Account Representative in Georgia to help maximize your production incentives benefits. Please contact Karen Sortor at 678.690.8469 for more information regarding our services in Georgia.

** EP and EPPS Purchasing, Inc. have full-time employees working in our Jefferson Parish office to help maximize your production incentives. Please contact Ryan Broussard at 504.296.2502 for more information regarding our services in Louisiana.

*** EP and EPPS Purchasing, Inc. have an office at The Ford Building in Detroit to help maximize your production incentives. Please contact Blane Hailemichael at 313.573.0018 for more information regarding our services in Michigan.

**** EP and EPPS Purchasing, Inc., have an office at Albuquerque Studios. EP provides super loan-out services in New Mexico to help maximize your production incentives. For more information contact the EP Production Incentives Group.

***** EP and EPPS Purchasing, Inc., have a full-time Account Representative in Pennsylvania to help maximize your production incentive benefits. Please contact Mary Ann McBride at 412.956.7325 for more information regarding our services in Pennsylvania.

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Upcoming Appearances

2010 Sundance Film Festival
Park City, UT
January 21 - 31, 2010

Visit EP HQ at the New York Lounge on Main Street in Park City, Utah. Complimentary copies of the new 2010 Edition of the Incentives Guide will be available throughout the festival.

411 Publishing Webinar Series
Park City, UT
January 25, 2010

This next installment of the webinars will take place at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Moderated by Joseph Chianese, this webinar series is presented by 411 Publishing and Variety.com in partnership with the Producers Guild of America. More details to be announced.

Please visit the Happenings section of our website for updates.

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DISCLAIMER: These newsletter materials have been prepared by Entertainment Partners for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax advice or relied on for specific projects. Though every effort has been made to remain current, laws and incentives change and therefore this information may have been revised. Please contact your legal or tax advisors to confirm any laws or the effect of incentives on your project. For updates and more information, please visit the Jurisdictions section of our website.
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