Hollywood continues to plead with state officials to broaden California’s existing tax incentives. This week, a new, favorable talking point for the industry fell in its lap.
The Hollywood Reporter says the state’s current tax breaks added about $4.3 billion to the economy over the past three years. Direct spending totalled $1.9 billion, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
Those numbers could have been bigger, the report says, if the state offered the kind of robust tax incentives that other states like New Mexico currently offer.
The loss of this spending in California cost the state 47,600 jobs (direct, indirect and induced) during the last fiscal year and $410 million tax revenues to state and local governments,” estimates the report….The economic ramification of the loss of production activity in California is significant,” says the report, “as supporting industries from lighting to prop shops to visual effects houses to costumers are finding fewer opportunities and closing up shop or relocating to other states.
Meanwhile, two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey will use his voice and clout tomorrow to ask Maryland legislators to continue the tax break system that allowed his Netflix series House of Cards to be shot in the state.