Tax Incentives Are Extended

The New York state government recently passed its annual budget, and in that budget was an extension to the Empire State Film Tax Credit Program. That means $420 million a year in tax incentives for film and television production through 2024. Extending this tax credit for multiple years was vital. It allows television shows to plan for production in New York to cover a multiple-year series. Television has seen explosive growth in recent years thanks to the exponential increase in streaming services, and we want those shows in New York.

Credit for this successful outcome goes to the incredible work of our elected leaders in New York and all of the New York members who contacted their representatives. Your voices were heard! We must also acknowledge the tireless efforts of our fellow entertainment unions: WGA, East; DGA; IATSE 52; IATSE 600; Teamsters 817; as well as the NYS AFL-CIO and our industry partners at the MPAA.

New York Local President Rebecca Damon said, “Thanks to the support and engagement of SAG-AFTRA members, we were able to keep thousands of good union jobs in New York. I was proud to lead this effort on behalf of members, but I want to acknowledge the strong coalition of industry unions and in particular to thank New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento and SAG-AFTRA New York Local Executive Director Jeffrey Bennett for their extensive collaboration on this monumental effort.”

These tax incentives are extremely important to the New York economy. Since 2004, film and TV production jobs are up 55 percent, growing 4.5 times faster than the overall New York state economy. New York hosted a record number of TV series in 2017, 91 of them supported by the tax credit. More production requires more space, and more than 30 soundstages have been added since 2016 or are in the active pipeline. The return on investment from these incentives in 2017 was estimated to be 1.18, meaning that for every dollar of credit disbursed, New York state and local municipalities received a combined $1.18 in total tax revenue.

Not to be left out, last July, New Jersey raised its tax incentive program to $75 million, up from $10 million. The Garden State offers a 30-percent tax credit on purchases and rentals for f lm production. About a dozen major productions are currently filming in New Jersey or are about to start. NBC has a studio at the IZOD center, and
warehouses throughout the state are being looked at for possible conversion to TV studios. New York Local Vice President Liz Zazzi said, “So many of our members live in New Jersey, and we are thrilled to see these valuable credits increased and restored.”

We look forward to keeping the entire New York Local at the forefront of f lm and television production for many years to come.