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Film Tax Incentive Increased to 30% in Washington
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Governor Gregoire Signs Bill Increasing Film Tax Incentive from 20% to 30%
The Motion Picture Competitiveness Program's increase to a 30% production tax incentive makes Washington State exponentially more competitive as a filming location and promises to bring significant economic development to Washington State in the form of immediate job creation and production spending in the local economy.
April 15, 2009, Olympia, Washington Governor, Christine Gregoire, signed revenue neutral SBH 2042, which increases the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program tax incentive from 20% to a 30% return on production's Washington State spend. "The additional incentives provided in this legislation will make Washington state much more competitive in the film industry," Gregoire said. "For every industry, Washington must do what it can to attract new business and create new jobs. Along with Washington's beautiful locations, this legislation ensures our state is providing the right business environment that's appealing to producers and directors."
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (D., Seattle. The companion bill in the Senate was sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D., Seattle). WashingtonFilmWorks, a 501 (c) 6 non-profit organization, manages the state film program, which administers the incentive. Board Chair, Becky Bogard states "The 30% tax incentive increase comes just in time for WashingtonFilmWorks Staff to spread the news at Locations Trade Show in Santa Monica next week. It is a great story to tell; not only do we have the widest variety of filming locations in the country, but now we have an extremely competitive business plan."
Over 40 states offer anywhere from 5% to 42% in financial incentives hoping to lure film production's lucrative spending to their local economy. Production incentives started appearing around 2000 in order to combat the phenomenon known as "Runaway Production" (In the 90's Canada began aggressively pursing film by developing strong financial incentives, attracting millions of dollars in production spending each year). Due to our proximity, Washington was one of the states most affected.
Currently, while Vancouver B.C. is trying to lure $100M movies, Washington's incentive is strategically targeting $2M - $15M productions. At this budget level, productions will hire Washington's local cast and crew, as well as rent equipment from local vendors (instead of flying equipment and crew in from California), thereby leaving the production spending in-state.
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