Commercialmakers can only wonder what might have been if spots had been deemed eligible for the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program which was part of last year’s state budget agreement. Clearly, the feature film and TV productions that qualified for the program prove that incentives have benefited these projects as well as the state’s economy.
In its first year, the program–administered by the California Film Commission (CFC)–allocated $200 million in tax credits to 77 projects. This year, another 30 projects are set to receive an additional $100 million in tax credit allocations. Together, they are estimated to bring $2 billion in direct spending to California communities, which includes $736 million in wages paid to “below-the-line” crew members (electricians, grips, drivers, costumers, etc), according to data compiled by the CFC. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) said that the incentive initiative has created and retained tens of thousands of jobs while generating spending in the Golden State.
The CFC reported that the 77 first-year projects approved for tax credits will hire 18,200 crew members, 4,000 cast members, and over 100,000 background or “extra” players. These approved projects include 51 feature films, both studio and independent, seven television series and 14 made-for-television-movies.
“For three years, I’ve been trying to make RED STATE. It wasn’t until my project qualified for the tax credit program that the flick fast-tracked into reality,” said feature film director Kevin Smith. “A film it seemed would never get made is now lensing right here in California.”
As of June 1, 2010, production companies could apply to California’s tax credit program for allocations from the program’s second year. Thirty productions have been approved for allocations which exhausts the fiscal year funding. The remaining applicants have been added to a waitlist. The 30 productions include 19 feature films, eight television series and three made-for-television-movies.
In order to spur job growth, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation enacting the tax credit program in 2009 as part of a targeted economic stimulus package to increase film and TV production in California. The program authorizes the CFC to allocate $100 million in tax credits each fiscal year (or up to $200 million in its first year of operation) to eligible productions through fiscal year 2013-’14. Productions will not receive their tax credit certificates until they have completed postproduction, and the tax credits do not become effective before January 1, 2011.
“The enormous interest in our tax credit program,” said Amy Lemisch, executive director of the CFC, “shows that a targeted incentive can keep tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in California.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More