City Expands Tax Credit Program for Films

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The New York Sun

Hollywood is getting an infusion of government funds aimed at keeping the cameras rolling in New York.

Following approval from Albany, the city is expanding its film and television tax credit program by $30 million annually, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. The state is contributing an additional $60 million a year to a pool of funds that filmmakers can tap if they shoot at least 75% of their movies or TV shows within the five boroughs.

Mr. Bloomberg hailed the credits as allowing the city to maintain its edge over locations such as Toronto and Prague, which have long used tax credits and other incentives to attract filmmakers looking to save on production costs. Critics of the tax breaks say they are little more than a subsidy for the film industry and an opportunity for politicians to woo wealthy Hollywood producers as campaign donors.

The money is allocated as part of the city’s “Made in NY” program, which also gives participating filmmakers access to free advertising on public spaces.

“New York is the only place in the world that offers this kind of free advertising, and while others may be able to give tax credits, nobody can match the visibility and the reach that advertising in New York provides,” Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday.

The mayor announced the added funds on the TriBeCa set of the film “The Nanny Diaries,” standing alongside Hollywood kingpin Harvey Weinstein, who is producing the movie through his new company, the Weinstein Company. The film, starring Scarlett Johannson, Laura Linney, and Paul Giamatti, is an adaptation of the best-selling satirical book of the same name by Nicole Kraus and Emma McLaughlin.

Between city and state funds, filmmakers eligible for the program can recoup a total of 15% of the production costs in tax credits. The state provides 10%, and the city 5%.


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