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'The Tonight Show' Got $22 Million In Tax Breaks To Relocate To NYC
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 23, 2014
Modified Feb 23, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 23, 2014
Modified Feb 23, 2014
Share
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Savor every second of those delightfully viral moments from Jimmy Fallon's New York reincarnation of The Tonight Show: they're costing taxpayers around $22 million in additional income each year.
Last spring Governor Cuomo absurdly denied that a special 30% tax credit for "a talk or variety program that filmed at least five seasons outside the state prior to its first relocated season in New York" and "must be filmed before a studio audience" wasn't written to steal The Tonight Show back from LA after 42 years.
Indeed, New York City had no late-night television talk shows prior to the The Tonight Show's relocation—the city's white collar workforce spent their lunch hour at their desks in silent contemplation, and children had all but forgotten what the cajoled laughter of 200 tourists sounds like.
"We're going to change our tax policy—in the heaviest-taxed city and state in the country—to get another late night show in Manhattan?" the head of the Empire Center for Public Policy remarked to an AP reporter. "Even the money that they bring is a rounding error in the New York City economy. Other industries don't get 30 percent credit. It's because it's a glamorous industry."
NBC told the AP that The Tonight Show would create roughly 250 staff jobs, another 300 "indirect jobs" and "hundreds" more part-time jobs. New York offers $420 million in tax breaks for film productions each year, and the industry generates $8.2 billion in direct wages. California, which reaps $17 billion in direct wages from the entertainment industry, doles out $100 million in annual tax breaks. The jury's still out as to whether taxpayers actually see a return on their investment.
A note to public access late night star Charles Cullen: Don't your roosters deserve a generous tax credit?
Tagged
jimmy fallon
tax breaks
the tonight show
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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