MyNewsLA: LA and Glendale Lawmakers, Unions to Rally for Film Incentive
Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, will lead Los Angeles-area members of Congress and entertainment unions in a rally Tuesday supporting legislation that would create a federal tax credit for film and television productions made in the United States.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, and Reps. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles; Judy Chu, D-Pasadena; Linda Sánchez, D-Whittier; Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands; Ted Lieu, D-Torrance; David Min, D-Irvine; and Derek Tran, D-Garden Grove, are scheduled to join Friedman at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd.
Feature films, television pilots and television seasons costing more than $1 million would qualify if at least 75% of their principal photography days take place in the United States. The legislation also would cover qualifying post-production and visual effects work if at least 75% of those costs are incurred domestically.
Bonus credits could increase the incentive to as much as 30% for productions meeting specified criteria, including independent productions and projects filming at least 30% of their principal photography days in a rural qualified opportunity zone or federally declared disaster area.
“For over a year, I’ve worked to build a coalition of unions, studios, Republicans & Democrats, and the White House, because we knew that a national film tax credit would bring hundreds of thousands of jobs back to our country,” Friedman said when the bill was introduced last month. “This bill is a result of that coalition. It tells every country that has been outbidding us for American work that we are done losing.”
Supporters say American film and television productions have increasingly moved overseas to take advantage of incentives offered by countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada.
“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,” Schiff said. “Now, we have the best opportunity in decades to get it done.”
The proposed credit would apply to productions beginning in taxable years after Dec. 31, 2026, and would be transferable, allowing producers who cannot use the full credit against their federal tax liability to sell it.
An industry-commissioned study cited by supporters projected that a federal incentive would create 143,500 full-time equivalent jobs annually nationwide.
The American film and television industry supports more than 2 million jobs and pays $202 billion in wages, according to Friedman’s office. The office said more than 100,000 production jobs have disappeared since the industry’s peak in October 2022, a decline of roughly 36% through February.