As earlier reported (SHOOT, 4/8, p. 1), a proposed tax credit designed to help New York keep and attract filming of commercials has surfaced in both houses of the state legislature. Currently, two similarly worded tax incentive bills are in play–one introduced in the State Senate, the other in the Assembly.
During the New York Production Alliance’s annual general membership meeting on Tuesday (4/26) at the Eastman Kodak Theater in New York, Matt Miller, president/CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), provided an update on the proposal. He noted that there are seven weeks left in the current legislative session and the industry is hopeful that a bill can gain passage.
Miller related that the tax credit has bipartisan legislative support and that Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle (D-Rochester) has made the measure a priority. If passed, the credit would apply to certain below-the-line expenditures and make New York more economically viable for a significantly larger number of spot filming projects.
The legislative initiative is generally regarded as precedent setting for the advertising industry. While there have been feature film/TV program tax credits and other broad-based anti-runaway programs that have included spots, the New York State proposal is believed to be the first major standalone measure specifically designed for and exclusively targeting commercial production.