Hollywood’s long-discussed federal film and TV tax incentive is about to get very real. I’ve learned that legislation creating a nationwide production credit is likely to be introduced in the House as early as Thursday. (While Congress adjourned early last week, bills can be introduced in pro forma sessions held during the break.)
Just how seriously Hollywood is taking the prospect became clear Monday, when even amid the whopper Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger settlement news, California Attorney General Rob Bonta started off his presser — more or less a concession speech — by touting the benefits of a federal incentive and revealing that some of Paramount’s behavioral remedies would hinge on it.
“If Congress passes a federal film tax credit… Paramount has agreed that 20 percent of all film production must be in the United States for the first two years, and then 30 percent for the next three,” he said. Should California or New York uncap their statewide film tax incentives, Paramount must then ensure that at least 40 percent of its production occurs in the U.S.