A 40% infrastructure tax credit to the lure the film industry is likely a thing of the past in Louisiana. But incentives will continue to exist in some form—even with the projected budget shortfall and the fact that more and more states are copying us by offering incentives of their own. Louisiana’s original infrastructure tax credit spawned “numerous projects huge in scope” before the
Legislature brought things down to earth with modified rules, says Sherri McConnell, director of the Office of Entertainment Industry Development, part of LED.
The infrastructure tax credit law has sunset, though anyone who’s completed at least 50% of their originally certified project can continue to get tax credits on the balance of construction.
Louisiana’s upcoming fiscal session may see legislation to extend the infrastructure credit, though extending the state’s production tax credit—more of a priority as far as the entertainment is concerned—will likely get more attention. A meaningful production tax credit is important at a time other states—Georgia is a particular threat—are offering incentives to steal away Louisiana’s hard earned film business, McConnell says.
“I certainly believe we’ll see an initiative from the (LED) to remove the sunset on the production tax credits, to either push it way down the road or eliminate it entirely, because it’s a disincentive for any long term kind of investment,” she says.—Steve Clark
