Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday sweetened the deal for New York's film and TV tax breaks, as the state appears to be dealing with a sharp decline in manufacturing.
Hochul proposed a new $100 million funding pool for unbiased films, plus a 10% bonus on top of a 30% base credit score for companies that produce at least three big-budget productions in the state .
Manufacturing spending in New York is expected to drop 15% since 2019, according to data from the state's Workplace for Growth. Even though the state is doubling the annual cap from $420 million to $700 million in 2023, use of state tax credit points is still down 53% from the past five years.
Manufacturing has also fallen sharply across the United States, except in Canada and the United Kingdom. The past few years have seen studios divest again in response to the streaming economy. Those declines have made it difficult for many seafarers to find work and prompted some lawmakers to try to jump-start manufacturing within their jurisdictions.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed increasing state tax incentives to $750 million a year, in part to compete with New York. British Columbia is likely to increase its tax benefits to about C$843 million (CAD$1.2 billion) in response to a sharp economic slowdown in the province.
New York, in particular, is a rival to New Jersey, where film subsidies are as high as 39% of the production price.
In 2023, New York increased its credit score from 25% to 30% and provided $500,000 in base salaries for actors, executives, writers and producers. In response to studio lobbying, Hochul's new proposal would eliminate the $500,000 cap, bringing it in line with New Jersey and other states.
Another topic is the time it takes for your credit score to cash out. Credit is allocated over two years for some works and three years for larger works. Hochul's proposal would eliminate that delay, providing total credit scores within the first year of distribution.
The system is oversubscribed, causing a backlog and prompting the state to attract money from allocations for future years to fund current productions.
This delay has a disproportionate impact on the production of justice. To address the problem, Hochul's workplace proposes setting aside $100 million for low-cost film and television exhibitions, to be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Moving Image Alliance, which lobbies for seven major studios, praised Hochul in a press release, calling her “a champion for New York State's creative teams.”
“She acknowledged that when a movie or series of movies is filmed in cities from Yonkers to Buffalo, manufacturing creates high-quality, high-paying jobs for local workers and helps local companies,” the MPA said. “The fact is that the major action sequences brought in $1.3 million to the community, while the TV series brought $475,000 to the local economy. dollars in revenue they produce every day. The governor’s current proposals to strengthen the manufacturing incentive program will increase our industry’s regulatory profile by creating union jobs, building a pipeline of professional talent, and supporting small companies.”
James Skoufis, a Democratic state senator from the Hudson Valley who was instrumental in the film incentive push, highlighted a 2023 state audit that found 31 cents of every dollar invested. tax revenue. At a press conference last year, Skoufis called for credit scores to be scrapped, although he admitted that was unlikely.
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