The Los Angeles City Council Jobs & Business Development Committee, chaired by Councilmember Richard Alarcón, unanimously passed on Tuesday (7/27) an Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP)-backed effort to increase the entertainment production tax cap, which will reduce taxes for hundreds of production companies doing business in Los Angeles. Matt Miller, president and CEO of the AICP, testified in support of the motion introduced by Councilmember Alarcón earlier this month.
“This tax cap adjustment will greatly benefit the entire industry in Los Angeles as well as all of our member production companies that produce work there,” said Miller. “It sends a strong message that the City is serious about keeping commercial production in L.A. in addition to bringing back recently displaced production, even if the state has not acted to combat national and international competition.”
Currently, the city assesses tax liability on film production companies through a flat fee of $145 on production activity up to $2.5 million. This represents the minimum threshold to which $1.30 is assessed for each additional $1,000 in production costs incurred in excess of $2.5 million. This rate-per-thousand system taxes all production costs up to a maximum of $12 million or $12,495 in direct city taxes. The tax reduction measure proposes adjusting the minimum tax threshold from the current $2.5 million to a new minimum of $5 million for all production companies.
According to the AICP’s 2010 Annual Member Survey, the median sales per company in 2009 was $2.79 million. Raising the minimum threshold to $5 million would provide significant tax savings to small and medium-sized production businesses, affecting a large majority of all commercial production companies as well as other boutique firms and postproduction houses in the industry.
The unanimous vote calls on the city’s chief legislative analyst and city administrative officer to draft ordinance language and report back to the Jobs and Business Development Committee in 30 days on the economic impact of the measure, at which time the committee may vote to send it before the full Council for final approval.
AD&Co. Launches Studio A; Davida Hall To Head New Venture As Sr. Director of Creative Content
Female-founded and led creative marketing agency AD&Co. has opened Studio A. The new venture will serve as AD&Co.’s in-house social brand content division, focused on developing and producing digital programming for advertising, social media, and influencer marketing campaigns designed to reach today’s audiences on the most popular and pivotal platforms. Davida Hall has been named to head Studio A as sr. director of creative content. She shifts over from AD&Co. where she held the same title since December 2023. Hall’s affiliations prior to AD&Co. include PopSugar and Studio71.
Amy Demas, founder and chief creative officer of AD&Co., said, “We understand content is king-—or queen—and that our clients need to engage their customer communities where they live. That inspired the logical expansion of AD&Co with Studio A, which is committed to producing only the most engaging and authentic brand stories.”
Studio A will harness both AD&Co’s and Hall’s deep expertise in the lifestyle sector, as content creators and avid consumers. Specializing in reaching audiences where they spend their time, the studio is immersed in social media, pop culture, and current trends, expertly crafting visuals, language, and storytelling to reinforce client brand identities and cut through the noise.
Studio A debuts with the “This Is Me” campaign for Love + Craft + Beauty, a brand dedicated to embracing and promoting diversity within the beauty space. “This Is Me” highlights Gen Z’s affinity for radical self-expression that allows individuals to tell their own stories, free from labels, using beauty and fashion as tools of authenticity. The campaign showcases models celebrating their unique qualities to present... Read More