Empire State Film Production Tax Credit Report - August 2010
Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2004 created the Empire State Film Production credit to promote film and television production in New York State. The credit is available under Article 9-A, the Franchise Tax on Business Corporations, and Article 22, the Personal Income Tax. As enacted, the credit was limited to $25 million annually and was scheduled to expire on August 20, 2008. The credit has since been amended three times.
Chapters 61 and 62 of the Laws of 2006 increased the annual cap to $60 million and extended the sunset date through December 31, 2011.
Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2008 made several significant changes to the program. It increased the credit rate from 10 percent to 30 percent of qualified production costs. It also shortened the credit refund period from 50 percent over two years to 100 percent in one year, Finally, the total amount of credit that can be awarded was increased from $60 million annually in 2008 through 2011 to $65 million in 2008, $75 million in 2009, $85 million in 2010, $90 million in 2011 and 2012, and $110 million in 2013.
Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2009 authorized an additional $350 million allocation for 2009. It also required the use of the credit to be spread across several years, depending on the size of the credit.
Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2010 allocated an additional $2.1 billion in film credit, which will be awarded in $420 million annual increments from 2010 through 2014. $35 million of the allocation, or $7 million annually, is dedicated to a new post-production tax credit.
The credit is administered by the Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development (MP/TV), which is the entity also responsible for monitoring the status of the credit cap.
Chapter 60 also mandated an annual report evaluating the effectiveness of the tax credit in stimulating the growth of the film industry in the State. This report was prepared by the Office of Tax Policy Analysis (OTPA) and MP/TV using data from applications filed with MP/TV for allocation of film production credits.
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August 2010 report (pdf)
