The law seeks to reshore production work for movies and TV to the US
A bipartisan coalition of US lawmakers in Congress have pitched a law to set a federal film and television tax credit, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act is intended to reshore production work on movies and television back to the US. It would set a 20 percent base tax credit on labor costs.
The bill would support workers in the industry who are facing a shrinking job market; per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of motion picture and video industry-related jobs has plummeted by over 100,000 since 2022. To be eligible for the credit, projects must have a budget exceeding US$1 million, and 75 percent of filming must take place in the US.
The credit can be boosted to up to 30 percent through four uplifts focusing on independent projects, projects shot in “opportunity zones” or regions affected by disasters, projects shot in 10 or more US locations, and projects that increased domestic production compared to historical foreign-based amounts, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Opportunity zones” are defined as areas experiencing economic challenges, and qualified expenses cover postproduction and VFX labor.
As in Australia and Canada, the tax incentive can be stacked over individual state tax benefits. Exemptions from the incentive are news programs, talk shows, soap operas, live sports, social media videos, commercials, and corporate videos.
Representatives Laura Friedman, Nathaniel Moran, Linda Sanchez, and Brian Jack spearheaded the Act’s introduction in the House, with Moran highlighting the benefits to catering companies, hardware stores, and hotels if production was centered in the US. Meanwhile, senators Adam Schiff and Tim Scott are pushing a similar bill in the Senate.
“For years, I’ve been championing a federal film tax credit to stop the exodus of TV and film production leaving the United States for countries offering higher incentives. Now, we have the best opportunity in decades to get it done,” Schiff said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Nonetheless, the senator indicated that there was more work to be done.
“We’re going to need to continue working on helping workers in this industry because there are a lot of other pressures on the industry as a result of changes in technology and mergers,” Schiff said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter. “So I’m hoping that the partnership that we have built around this bill, once we’re successful with it, will continue so that we can address other issues as well.”
