Tipping its hat to the entertainment industry, the House on Ways and Means Committee moved four bills to the full House chamber on Monday that would tweak movie tax credits for the film and music industries.
As The Manship News Services reports, the committee advanced a proposal for a three-year, $180 million front-end cap on the film tax credit, the creation of a Louisiana Entertainment Development Fund, additional tax credits for musical artists and a time change to when movie tax credits are earned.
House Bill 508 by Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, would establish the Louisiana Entertainment Development Fund as a special treasury fund. The fund would be developed through the transfer of a motion picture tax credit, depositing the collections from the tax credit’s processing fee into the fund.
House Bill 508, meanwhile, would change the amount of the current processing fee from up to $250 to 2% of the tax credit transfer value. One-quarter of the fund would be appropriated to the Department of Revenue for administrative purposes, while the other three-quarters would be earmarked for the Department of Economic Development for education development initiatives, matching grants for Louisiana filmmakers, a loan guarantee program and a deal closing fund.
An amendment ties the bill to Senate Bill 254 by Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, which offers a comprehensive reform to the film program in the state. If Morrell’s bill fails, everyone would revert back to the $200 processing fee.
