Film/TV Tax Incentive in Minnesota- We Need Your Help!

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Dear union sisters and brothers,

Your friends and colleagues have been working hard over the past several weeks to gather broad labor support for a bill that would enact a strong incentive for film and television production in Minnesota. The state AFL-CIO has endorsed the concept of the bill, and has made it part of their legislative agenda. The bill has been introduced in both the House and Senate. The time has come where we need your help! 

The keys to getting the bill passed are the Tax Committees in each chamber. We would like you to send two emails to the members of the House and Senate Tax Committees, between Friday, March 12 and Monday, March 22. You can send the same message each time, or if you want to write a different message for the follow-up, that’s great. Please prioritize sending emails to the Senate first, beginning with the Chair and Vice Chair. They are the more crucial of two. Contact information is provided below. Phone numbers and Twitter handles are also provided, in case we decide to use those later.

Important things to know:

  • In ALL your communications, include the House or Senate bill number (HF 1975 or SF 1986), request the bill be included in the Omnibus Tax Bill, and stress that this is a Jobs and Economic Recovery bill for all Minnesotans. Be sure to use the House number when contacting members of the House Tax Committee, and the Senate number when contacting Senators. Refer to each bill as the tax credit production incentive.
  • This bill calls for a transferrable tax credit, which does not require an appropriation.
  • The bill calls for a 25% tax credit against qualified expenses for film and TV production, a $25 million per year cap, and a 10-year sunset. These numbers would be large enough to encourage long-term growth of the industry in the state, not simply to attract one-time projects. 
  • VERY IMPORTANT: If you’re a constituent, be sure to say so! Hearing from a constituent always makes a much greater impact with a Legislator. If you don’t know who your Rep or Senator is, find out here: https://bit.ly/3aR2Q6f. 
  • Even if you’re not a constituent, be sure to make your message personal!  We don’t want the legislators to see a lot of “form letters.”  Tell them what you do for a living.  Tell them about your experience in your industry and how this legislation would impact your job.  
  • Get their attention in the subject line!  Be original, even humorous, but always be respectful.  
  • If you receive questions or responses from the committee members, please let us know!  We want to track that information.

Here are some talking points:  

You can use all, some, or none of them.  If you write more than one message, maybe mix it up and include different points in different messages.  

  • We were once in the top five states for film/TV production, but we’ve lost it because we no longer have a competitive incentive.
  • Film/TV supports 2.6 million good middle-class and blue collar jobs in the US, 2/3 of those jobs in indirect/support industries (transportation, retail, hospitality, etc.) Example: The first season of “Castle Rock,” shot in Massachusetts, created 1,026 jobs and generated $69 million in economic activity. Each $1 of tax credit generated an estimated $4.73 in economic activity in the state. This bill could allow something similar to happen here. 
  • Up to $250,000 per day can be introduced into local economies when a film shoots on location.
  • Due to COVID, there is an enormous backlog of unfinished projects, and we need to enact a competitive incentive now.
  • A rebate (the kind of incentive we have now) is NOT effective in growing the industry long-term.
  • Tax credits, especially transferable tax credits, have been shown to be the most effective type of incentives. Ten states have a transferable tax credit: CA, CT, GA, IL, MA, MT, NV, NJ, PA, RI.
  • Production companies utilizing the 25% tax credit on qualified spending are still paying 100% of the Minnesota payroll and sales taxes incurred during production. The credits they receive are on future tax liabilities. This generates even greater economic activity in a wide range of industries - activity that Minnesota otherwise would not see BUT FOR the incentive.
  • This is not a partisan issue! Both “red” and ”blue” states have successful tax incentives. 

Senate Tax Committee

House Tax Committee

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