PRODUCTION INCENTIVES

• Sales tax relief for productions no longer available in INDIANA.
• NEBRASKA no longer offers an incentive program at this time.
• CANADA - Prince Edward Island no longer offers an incentive program at this time.
• Updated film commission information for:
• COLORADO
• DISTRICT of COLUMBIA
• GEORGIA
• MICHIGAN
• MISSOURI
• NEW HAMPSHIRE
  
  
• Added incentive information for:
• KENTUCKY
• AUSTRALIA - South Australia
• TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA (ROC) - Taipei City
  
  
• Proposed legislation updates for:
• DELAWARE
• LOUISIANA
• CANADA - Ontario
  
  

ARKANSAS

• Loan-Out Company Considerations: Currently none to note
• Crew Base Considerations: Arkansas is a right-to-work state
  
  

CALIFORNIA

• Application Considerations: Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis; if more than one application is received on the same date, a random selection process will determine the queue order for processing those applications for that day
  
  

CALIFORNIA - Santa Clarita

• Type of Incentive: Subsidy of permit fees for locally based and recurring productions
• Maximum Benefit: Waiver/subsidy of MOST film office permitting and use fees for locally based productions; refund/waiver/subsidy of basic permit processing fees for recurring productions
• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: No compensation caps; feature film budget cap of $75,000,000; “independent film” budget cap of $10,000,000; $100,000,000 funding per fiscal year from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014; ≤ $10,000,000 a year set aside for “independent films”; annual allotment on first-come, first-served basis, and may use one subsequent year’s funding
• Project Criteria: Locally based productions must meet the following: (1) have ≥ $1,000,000 per feature film, episodic television episode and per telivision pilots, movies, and mini-series, (2) principal photography in Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) ≥ 65%, and (3) crew must have ≥ 15% SCV residents; recurring productions either (1) pulls 6 local permit fees within fiscal year 2009 or (2) production is based at a sound stage or movie ranch within SCV ≥ 4 consecutive weeks
• Sunset/Review: June 30, 2010
  
  

FLORIDA

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: Cap on residents' compensation of $400,000 for the general production and independent Florida filmmaker queues, and $200,000 for the digital media queue; $10,800,000 (for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009) annual fund with 85% appropriated for general projects and 10% appropriated to independent Florida filmmaker projects and 5% appropriated to digital media projects; first-come, first-served on a fiscal year basis; productions can cross fiscal years
  
  

GEORGIA

• Crew Base Considerations: 5,440 crew members deep statewide; Georgia is a right-to-work state
  
  

ILLINOIS

• Maximum Benefit: 30% of qualifying local spend, plus 15% of the Illinois labor expenditures generated by the employment of residents of geographic areas of high poverty or high unemployment, as determined by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
  
  

IOWA

• Maximum Benefit: The Department of Economic Development may negotiate the credit rate up to the maximum of 25% for both the qualified expenditures and the investment tax credits. The Department of Revenue and Department of Economic Development may establish a list of eligible and negotiable expenditures; NOTE: 25% income exclusion for "domestic" vendors, effective July 1, 2009
• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: The qualifying investors' 25% credit of the eligible spend is capped at each investor&rsquo;s pro rata share of that amount up to 25% of qualified expenditures on the project. "Labor and personnel" includes compensation paid to the principal producer, principal director and principal cast members if Iowa residents or Iowa-based businesss AND for projects with qualified expenditures &ge; $10,000,000, but < $20,000,000, the compensation cap is &le; $250,000; if qualified expenditures are &ge; $20,000,000, then the compensation cap is &le; $1,000,000; all other compensation is eligible if: &le; $150,000 per person for projects with qualified expenditures < $10,000,000; &le; $200,000 for projects with qualified expenditures &ge; $10,000,000 and < $20,000,000; and &le; $300,000 for projects with qualified expenditures &ge; $20,000,000
  
  

LOUISIANA

• Type of Incentive: Partially refundable, fully transferable motion picture production tax credits; as a last resort, the credits can be transferred to the state of Louisiana for 85% of face value on projects certified on/after July 1, 2009
• Maximum Benefit: 30% of qualifying local spend including the payroll for residents and non-residents, and 5% of resident payroll &le; $1,000,000
• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: $1,000,000 cap on resident payroll additional credit of 5%; no project or funding caps
• Sunset/Review: The investor tax credits are not time-limited
• Application Considerations: Fee = minimum: $200, maximum: $5000; fee is assessed as -0.2% of total estimated tax credit; submit application before production commences (response &le; 30 days)
  
  

LOUISIANA - Jefferson Parish

• Maximum Benefit: 3% of lodging, payroll for residents, and all other local spend
  
  

LOUISIANA - Shreveport

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: $150,000 cap on new productions; $165,000 cap on subsequent productions within 12 months; $10,000 cap increase if a Caddo Parish-based post production company is used
  
  

MINNESOTA

• Updated Minnesota Revenue Sales Tax Fact Sheet link
  
  

MONTANA

• Sunset/Review: December 31, 2014
  
  

NEW MEXICO

• Hotel Occupancy Tax Relief now available.
  
  

OKLAHOMA

• Updated Sales Tax Relief for Productions information and link
• Maximum Benefit: 35%; BONUS: 2% for Oklahoma music/recording
• Project Criteria: Minimum budget for film must be &ge; $50,000 and &ge; $25,000 = local spend; minimum budget for Oklahoma music/recording bonus must be &ge; $20,000
• Sunset/Review: December 31, 2012
  
  

OREGON

• Type of Incentive: Cash rebates consisting of the Oregon Production Investment Fund (OPIF), the "local filmmaker" or indigenous OPIF, and the Greenlight Oregon Labor Rebate (GOLR)
• Maximum Benefit: Up to 16.2% of wages paid (residents and non-residents and exclude entire compensation if Oregon compensation > $1,000,000 for each individual); 20% of qualifying local goods/services (other than wages); rules to implement the reimbursement and other criteria for the "local filmmaker" OPIF will be available prior to the effective date of January 1, 2010
• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: No per project cap; $7,500,000 annual funding cap for the OPIF effective October 1, 2009 (10% labor and 20% local goods/services rebate); no annual funding cap for 6.2% GOLR
• Project Criteria: Minimum local spend for OPIF = $750,000; local spend for the "local filmmaker" OPIF is &ge; $75,000, but < $750,000; minimum local spend for GOLR = $1,000,000
  
  

UTAH

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: Tax credit offered without a per project cap; funding for the tax credit is capped at $7,793,700 for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 fiscal years; annual funding for the cash rebate is capped at $2,206,300 (as of March 30, 2009, approximately $900,000 in funding remains for the 2008-2009 fiscal year)
  
  

WEST VIRGINIA

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: No per project cap; $10,000,000 annual funding
  
  

WISCONSIN

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: $25,000 per person cap for resident employee payroll credit; no project caps; funding is set at $500,000 for the 2009-2010 fiscal year
  
  

WYOMING

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: No per project cap; $900,000 funding appropriated as of June 12, 2009
  
  

CANADA - Alberta

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: Cap per project C$3,000,000; no annual funding cap
• Project Criteria: The production must be supported by a broadcast license of FMV or a distribution agreement and be shown within 2 years of completion; must be an eligible genre; minimum local spend of > C$25,000; production must provide evidence of 65% confirmed financing for projects > C$1,000,000, and 45% confirmed financing for projects < C$1,000,000; must also provide either: audited financial statements for productions > C$500,000, an engagement review for productions between C$200,000 and C$500,000, or an uncertified final cost report with a statutory declaration for productions < C$200,000; application must be submitted prior to the start of principal photography
• Eligible Entities: The production company must be incorporated in Alberta or registered to do business in AB and be in good standing with Corporate Registry; distributors/broadcasters are ineligible
  
  

CANADA - Ontario

• Maximum Benefit: 25% of qualifying Ontario (ON) labor expenditures (not limited to ON labor); Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects (OCASE) bonus: 20% of qualifying ON labor related to digital animation and special effects work
• Sunset/Review: None
  
  

CANADA - Nova Scotia

• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: Project labor caps at 50% of total production costs; no annual funding caps; no labor caps; no limit to the tax credit
  
  

CANADA - Quebec

• Maximum Benefit: 25% of qualifying Quebec (QC) expenditurese (not limited to QC labor); Quebec Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit bonus: 5% additional credit on qualifying animation and special effects QC expenditures (not limited to QC labor)
  
  

CANADA - Yukon

• Type of Incentive: Spend, travel, and training rebates
• Maximum Benefit: Yukon Spend Rebate: TV programs, MOWs, documentaries and feature films (not commercials) are eligible for a rebate of up to 25% of below-the-line Yukon (YT) spend, provided criteria are met; Training Rebate: productions (not commercials) are eligible for a rebate of up to 25% of the wages paid to individuals providing on-set training (techniques and equipment) to eligible YT labor; Travel Rebate (for productions not accessing the 25% spend rebate, i.e. commercials): 50% of travel costs, to a maximum of the lesser of C$10,000, or 10% of total YT expenditures
• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: No project limits to Spend Rebate
• Project Criteria: The labor rebate is available to productions filming in YT with 50% of the person days in YT crewed by eligible YT residents; all elements of the fund must be applied for and approved in advance by the Yukon Film & Sound Commission
• Eligible Entities: The applicant must be a corporation taxable in Canada, and registered with YT Corporate
• Sunset/Review: None
  
  

FIJI

• Type of Incentive: Film tax rebate
• Maximum Benefit: 35% of qualifying local spend
• Compensation and Project Caps/Funding Per Year: FJD$8,750,000 per project
• Project Criteria: Minimum local spend = FJD$250,000; if the local spend is < FJD$25,000,000, the local spend must be &ge; 35% of the total spend; if the local spend is &ge; FJD$25,000,000, there is no percentage test
  
  

NEW ZEALAND

• Project Criteria: Minimum QNZPE = NZ$15,000,000 for LBSP; or NZ$3,000,000 in post-production digital and visual effects work; bundling of productions costing a minimum of NZ$3,000,000 to meet the NZ$30,000,000 QNZPE over 24 months; bundling of episodes (completed within 12 months) averaging NZ$500,000 per hour is permitted to meet the minimum spend; for SPIF Grant, minimum QNZPE = NZ$$4,000,000 for eligible feature films, NZ$1,000,000 for eligible series of programs, NZ$1,000,000 for eligible single episode program, NZ$250,000 for eligible documentary, NZ$250,000 for eligible short-form animation, and all eligible projects must contain significant New Zealand content; official co-productions of feature films or television programming produced under one of New Zealand&rsquo;s co-production agreements will automatically qualify as having significant NZ content and may be eligible to apply for an SPIF Grant