Entertainment Partners has declared June "Production Incentives Awareness Month." Find out more...
The Essential Guide to U.S. & International Production Incentives, 2009, 2nd Edition, edited by Joseph Chianese, Marco Cordova, and Barbara Rosenfeld, will soon be available. Contact our group to pre-order your copy at no charge.
Monthly Production Incentives Email Updates Archive of previous newsletters is now available. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Recent Updates, as of June 4, 2009, have been posted to the website, including the "Basic Overview of U.S. and International Production Incentives" PDF.
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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.
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 production incentives specialists.
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.
CALIFORNIA The California Film Commission issued new program guidelines and regulations, which are now available on its website. The guidelines provide new application procedures and clarification regarding the approval and disapproval of applications. The website includes links to applicable forms, qualified expenditures charts for different types of projects, factsheet, and checklist. EP, along with other industry representatives, provided feedback regarding the new regulations through its participation in a roundtable established by the California Film Commission.
CALIFORNIA - San FranciscoOrdinance No. 64-09 was passed to cap the rebate at $600,000, effective April 1, 2009, and to eliminate fees, sales, and hotel taxes from eligibility. Proposed legislation is pending to extend the sunset date for three years beyond June 30, 2009, and to limit "qualified production costs."
CALIFORNIA - Santa Clarita The city has passed a three-prong incentive package effective July 1, 2009, that eliminates permit fees and provides a partial refund of the Transit Occupancy Tax for qualifying productions.
COLORADOHB 1010, which caps compensation at $3,000,000 per person and reduces annual funding of $600,000 by $480,011, has passed and has been sent to the Governor for signature.
FLORIDA The Governor approved the Legislature's 2009-10 budget bill with $10,800,000 in additional funding for the film rebate, effective July 1, 2009. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis beginning on June 15, 2009.
IOWA The Governor signed SF 480, passage of which was reported in last month's newsletter. The amendment provides for a registration fee, makes the rate of both the 25% qualified expenditure and the 25% investment tax credits negotiable, expands eligible "labor and personnel," and caps compensation based on the level of qualified expenditures. The new provisions apply to projects registered on or after July 1, 2009. The Iowa Film Office does not currently have either specific guidelines regarding the registration fee or the criteria for determining both the qualified expenditure and the investment tax credit rates for each project.
KANSAS Section 7 of HB 2365 suspended the film production credit for tax years 2009 and 2010.
LOUISIANA HB 862 has been introduced to increase the maximum tax credit from 25% to 30% beginning July 1, 2009, and to remove the phase-down provisions for the maximum credit. In addition, SB 343 imposes a requirement that a "state certified production" not contain "content which is deemed harmful to minors" and awards an additional 2% benefit to a "family-friendly production." To look up bill details, visit http://www.legis.state.la.us/home.htm.
MARYLAND The incentive program budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is $1,000,000. Funding is still available from the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which must be committed by June 30. Production may begin after June 30 to be eligible for funds from the 2008-2009 fiscal year, but such funds must be allocated and the necessary paperwork must be processed by June 30.
MINNESOTA Governor Pawlenty approved the Omnibus Economic Development Bill, but used a line-item veto to strike $1,225,000 from the second year (2011) of a grant to the Minnesota Film and TV Board. For further details, see Chapter 78.
NEW YORK - New York CityS05674 has been introduced as enabling legislation, retroactive to January 1, 2009, to authorize New York City to amend its film tax credit by reducing the rate to 4%, (3%, 2%, and 0% in the fourth, fifth, and subsequent years of a TV series), with a cap of $250,000 ($300,000 if = 75% of post-production is done locally). Annual funding of $24,000,000 is authorized for 2009 through 2011. Applications cannot be accepted after $24,000, 000 has been allocated for 2009; funding is capped at $12,000,000 in six-month intervals beginning January 1, 2010.
NORTH CAROLINA Two bills (SB 349 and SB 943) are pending to increase the rate of the refundable tax credit from 15% to 25%.
OHIOHB 1 has been passed by the House to create a refundable credit of 25% of local spend and 35% of resident cast and crew, with a cap of $5,000,000 per project and $10,000,000 per year. SB 9, as passed by the Senate, contains a 25% transferable credit, capped at $100,000,000 per year and $25,000,000 per project.
OKLAHOMA The Governor signed SB 318 on May 26, 2009, to enhance the Oklahoma rebate for expenditures made after July 1, 2009. The rebate is increased to 35% of qualified local spend, with a 2% bonus for qualifying Oklahoma music with a local minimum spend of $20,000. Eligible projects must have a minimum budget of $50,000, with a minimum local spend of $25,000. The new enhanced rebate is not payable until July 1, 2010, with annual funding of $5,000,000. If approved claims exceed this amount, payments are made in the order approved. Approved claims for payments in excess of the annual funding will roll over into the following year.
Note also, as reported in our November 2008 Newsletter, eligible film projects can access "soft funding" through general tax credits in addition to the film-specific rebate (click here for more information).
OREGONSB 621, which would increase the annual funding cap for the Oregon Production Investment Fund from $5,000,000 to $7,500,000, is before the Senate Revenue Committee.
PUERTO RICO An unofficial translation of HB 377 (reported last month as P C377) contains annual funding up to $20,000,000, with approval from the Secretary of Treasury for amounts in excess of $15,000,000.
SOUTH CAROLINA The Legislature did not support the Senate's proposal to reduce the wage and supplier rebates and did not include any reduction in the incentive in the budget sent to the Governor.
WEST VIRGINIA SB 610, reported on last month when signed by the Governor, removed the limitation for accessing the tax credit when the federal New Markets Credit is accessed.
For more information on incentives around the world, visit the International Overview on our website and click on the country of interest.
BRAZILVariety has reported a new incentive, the Sector Fund, which is accessible to foreign producers who "go into business with local producers." Funding for the year is 74 million reais ($34,000,000).
COLOMBIAVariety reports that Colombia has set up a film commission and that "new tax incentives are in the works."
GEORGIAVariety reports that the Minister of Culture is working on a new law that would offer producers a 25% incentive, with an additional 5% for films that include significant Georgian cultural content.
NIGERIA The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has promised to work on investment incentives to attract foreign investment for filmmaking (see news article).
TAIWAN - Taipei City The Taiwan News reported that NT$25,000,000 will be earmarked for subsidies for local film incentives. The city currently offers funding of 20% of personnel expenses paid to cast members who are Republic of China (ROC) nationals, 15% of compensation paid to ROC crew members, and 15% of qualifying production expenditures if either pre-production or post-production is done locally, as well as some or all of the principal photography. There are additional benefits for animated projects, travel, accommodations, and insurance (see Taipei Film Commission).
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
More policies to be announced soon!
Entertainment Partners has an office in each of the following states to help maximize your production incentives (more to open soon!):
* 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 a full-time Account Representative in Louisiana to help maximize your production incentive benefits. 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 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.
Produced By Conference 2009Sony Studios, Culver City June 5 - 7, 2009 The entire producing community will gather in one place for an extraordinary weekend of discovery, learning and creative inspiration. Presented by the Producers Guild of America and hosted by Sony Pictures Studios, the Produced By Conference brings together the entire producing profession -- from acclaimed Oscar and Emmy winners, to experienced team members, to the young storytellers who represent the next generation of creative entrepreneurs. Entertainment Partners is a sponsor and Joseph Chianese will participate in the session below:
Produced By Conference 2009 Made in the USA: Navigating Domestic Tax IncentivesWilliam Holden Theater Sunday, June 5, 9:00 am - 10:10 am Tax incentives drive business decisions and often determine whether a project actually gets made. But navigating these waters can be difficult since legislation and regulations are complex and confusing. We will educate producers about what questions to ask within the current economic climate, what caveats you need to be aware of, and how to protect your project in this volatile environment.
Come visit us at Booth #18 to pick up your copy of The Essential Guide to U.S. & International Production Incentives 2009, 1st Edition.
California Locations ReceptionThe London Hotel, West Hollywood, CA Tuesday, June 16, 8:30 am - 10:30 am EP is proud to sponsor the California Film Commission's networking breakfast, highlighting California's diverse locations and speaking on subjects like California's new Film & Television Tax Credit Program.
411 Publishing Webinar "Incentives 101: How Producers Can Maximize Their Tax Incentive Benefits"Wednesday, June 24, 11am (PST)411 Publishing, the industry-leading provider of qualified production directories such as LA 411, NY 411, and Variety.com, presents the first in a series of targeted webinars designed to educate and inform the production community. In partnership with the Producers Guild of America, "Incentives 101" promises to deliver a high-value, informative discussion and "how to" guide for producers looking to maximize their tax incentive benefits. Register today!
Philadelphia Film MarketPhiladelphia Sound Stages June 22 - 28, 2009 EP will be represented at the first-ever Philadelphia Film Market, where "international film buyers, distributors and production companies will get together to buy and sell film properties for domestic and international distribution." Marco Cordova will host the following panel:
Philadelphia Film Market EP Film Incentives and Production Services PanelTuesday, June 23, at 3:00 pm The panel will focus on both local and national production incentives available to producers, as well as on incentives tips and issues affecting filmmakers today. It will also feature products and services offered by EP to help filmmakers from the planning stage through post-production.
Please visit the Happenings section of our website for current updates.