Spectrum News 1: Lawmakers introduce bill to create federal film tax credit

After years of slumping television and film production in the U.S., Hollywood needed a hero.

Enter stage left and right — a bipartisan group of lawmakers with a legislative proposal for a 20% federal film tax credit.

The legislation was introduced Thursday by Senators Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Scott, R-S.C. in the Senate and Reps. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., Brian Jack, R-Ga., and Laura Friedman, D-Calif.

It proposes a 20% base tax credit on labor expenses for projects with a budget of over $1 million. 75% of the production would need to be filmed in the U.S. to qualify.

The effort to secure a federal film tax credit has been years in the making — but Schiff said momentum for the initiative grew after President Donald Trump lent his support to it.

“We have never been closer to getting this done than today,” Schiff said on a call with press Thursday afternoon. “Never had such strong bipartisan support, not only bipartisan but bicameral and support from the White House. So we have this rare confluence of events that makes this really possible.”

The bill also proposes providing a maximum 30% tax credit for productions filmed in rural areas and areas impacted by disasters, with the hope that bringing productions to those communities can provide an economic boost.

“At its fundamental core, this bill is a jobs bill. It’s about good-paying union jobs,” explained Rep. Sanchez. “In just the last few years, we’ve lost about 730,000 middle-class jobs in the film industry and that means about $40 billion in wages, but this bill is about bringing those good jobs back and keeping them right here at home.”

Friedman, who is a former film producer, said she herself has been impacted by job losses in the film industry. “As a nation, we’re the only major production country without a national incentive. And that means that we have been losing one of our signature industries. That’s one of our largest exports as a nation,” she told reporters. 

“I am incredibly optimistic about this coalition that we have built, because a national film tax credit is the one thing that we know works to bring this industry home. Every other country has figured this out – now it’s our turn,” she added.

Even with bipartisan support and the president’s approval, there’s still a long way for the bill to go before it becomes law. But Schiff and the other California Democrats said they felt confident that Republican leadership would move quickly on the measure after the midterms.