Bipartisan bill proposes 20% federal film and TV tax credit

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced legislation that would offer federal tax incentives for film, television and visual-effects projects made in the country. The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act would create a base tax credit worth 20% of qualifying production costs.

TV Tech reports that Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, and Senators Adam Schiff, John Cornyn and Raphael Warnock introduced the bill on September 24. Schiff is a Democrat from California, Cornyn is a Republican from Texas and Warnock is a Democrat from Georgia.

A companion measure was introduced in the House by Representatives Nathaniel Moran, Linda T. Sánchez, Brian Jack, Laura Friedman, David Kustoff, Judy Chu, Mike Carey and Tom Suozzi. The group includes lawmakers from both parties and represents districts in Texas, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio and New York.

The proposal follows President Trump’s request that Congress create a federal production incentive intended to return entertainment jobs and activity to America. Its supporters say a nationwide programme would complement state-level schemes and make the country more competitive with overseas production centres.

A national response to overseas production

Several states already use their own economic incentives to attract productions. The bill’s backers argue, however, that the absence of one federal incentive has put the United States at a disadvantage as projects move to countries including Canada and the United Kingdom.

Under the proposal, qualifying productions made in the United States would begin with the 20% credit. Projects could also receive optional additional credits worth 5%, although the legislation would limit the combined credit to 30%. The article does not specify the qualifying conditions for those extra credits.

Supporters present the measure as a way to retain work for a broad production workforce. That workforce includes performers, writers, directors, camera operators, editors, visual-effects specialists, designers, lighting and sound crews, costume and makeup workers, transportation staff and many others.

The Motion Picture Association, Paramount and NBCUniversal are among the industry supporters. Endorsements also come from the American Federation of Musicians, ASCAP, the Coalition for American Production, CreativeFuture, the Directors Guild of America, FilmUSA, the Independent Film and Television Alliance, IATSE, the Producers Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, the Teamsters, the Television Academy and both the East and West branches of the Writers Guild of America.

Industry and labour groups unite behind the proposal

The coalition includes studios, trade organisations and unions that do not always speak with one voice on policy. Their common argument is that domestic production needs an incentive comparable with those available elsewhere.

Motion Picture Association chairman and chief executive Charles Rivkin said the measure could add $250 billion to the US economy and produce nearly 145,000 jobs annually across all 50 states. Those figures are projections cited by the association in support of the bill, rather than outcomes already recorded.

SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said the investment and work associated with productions were continuing, but that much of it was taking place outside the United States. He described the proposal as a jobs measure and argued that the country already possessed the facilities, crews and creative talent required to make the industry stronger at home.

Paramount chief executive David Ellison and NBCUniversal Entertainment chair Donna Langley also backed the legislation. Ellison said Paramount supported the measure and credited Scott with bipartisan leadership. He argued that America’s production workforce is central to one of the nation’s major cultural exports and that more movies and television programmes should be made domestically.

Langley said a federal incentive working alongside state programmes could improve competitiveness, support high-skill employment and encourage economic growth.

The case made by lawmakers

Scott has pointed to the cultural and economic reach of movies as well as the jobs attached to their production. He cited South Carolina’s connection to The Notebook and Forrest Gump, two films that used the state as a backdrop, while arguing that productions generate benefits for communities beyond the sets themselves.

The senator said allowing more work to leave the country would mean losing employment, investment and an important channel of American cultural influence. In his view, the proposed credit would help local economies and give future major productions a reason to remain in the United States.

The bill’s introduction does not itself establish the credit. Congress would still need to consider and pass the legislation before the proposed incentive could take effect. For now, the measure has brought lawmakers, studios, unions and industry groups together around a shared effort to increase domestic film, television and visual-effects production.