Assembly Bill 2026 and Senate Bill 1197 were signed into law last week (9/28) by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to extend funding for California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The two-year, $200 million extension ensures that tax credits will be available through fiscal year 2016-17.
The original five-year program enacted in 2009 was part of an economic stimulus package to increase film and TV production spending, jobs and tax revenues in California. Last year, the program was extended for a single year through fiscal 2014-15 when the Governor signed AB 1069 into law. The new two-year extension provides added continuity and certainty to a program that has proved successful.
Since it was enacted in 2009, the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program has helped keep scores of productions and tens of thousands of jobs in California. Based on spending estimates by approved film and TV projects, the program is responsible for generating an estimated $3.9 billion in direct spending statewide, including $1.3 billion in wages paid to 27,000 “below the line” crew members. The California Film Commission continues to administer the program.
The two-year extension calls for California to set aside $100 million each year for a total of $200 million to cover dozens of film and TV projects applying for credits that can amount to 20 to 25 percent of qualified production expenditures. Continuing to be excluded from eligibility for the tax credit are films with budgets of more than $75 million, as well as TV commercials.
Clearly, demand for the tax credit far exceeds supply. On June 1, the first day of this year’s program, 322 applications were filed for the credit. That’s an 83 percent increase over the 176 applications filed in 2011. Last year, 27 projects received the credit. This year, 28 spanning film and TV are in line to benefit from the program, with the rest on a waiting list.
Applications for the next fiscal year’s $100 million allocation of tax credits will be accepted starting June 1, 2013.
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Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More