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NY boosts film subsidy, covering portions of actor salaries
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 2, 2023
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By
Jon Campbell
Published May 2, 2023
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New York will provide $280 million a year more to the film and television industry as part of the sprawling $229 billion state budget, which lawmakers began approving Monday afternoon.
Movie and TV projects will now be able to claim $700 million annually in New York film tax credits, a 66% increase from the previously offered $420 million a year — already ranked as one of the most generous industry tax breaks in the country.
But for the first time, film and TV productions will also be able to claim a portion of actor, director, writer and composer salaries — up to $500,000 each — toward the credit, which will cover 30% of qualifying production costs for projects filmed in New York state, up five points from the previous subsidy.
An additional 10% credit is available in certain counties north of New York City, while the budget will also create a 5% credit for TV shows that relocate to New York from another state.
Gov. Kathy Hochul first proposed the expansion as part of her original budget proposal in February, citing increased competition from other states that have recently increased their film subsidies. That includes New Jersey, which attracted film productions such as "Oppenheimer, Bros and Mean Girls: The Musical" after boosting its tax credit.
Legislative leaders backed the effort, clearing the way for the expansion to make the final budget.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, noted her district has become a hub for film productions. Her Yonkers office is across the street from a new, massive film production facility housing Lionsgate Studios.
“I think there's a lot to be done creatively in this space,” Stewart-Cousins told reporters Monday. “While again, we continue to compete with California and everyone else to get our shows here. And they need a certain amount of vision about where they can be in the future, and I really want them here in New York.”
New York’s film subsidy program has long been a subject of debate at the state Capitol, with critics calling it an overly generous credit that is too narrowly focused on an industry specializing in transient productions.
Even before its planned boost to $700 million, the credit was already one of New York’s largest industry-specific tax breaks, only rivaled by incentives offered to semiconductor manufacturers.
The tax credit can be significant for large productions. It’s also fully refundable, meaning the credit is paid out even if it exceeds the production’s tax bill. If a television production had a state tax bill of $1 million but qualified for a credit of $5 million, it would receive a $4 million state refund, for example.
NBC’s "The Blacklist," Amazon’s "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and CBS’ "Madam Secretary" all received more than $20 million each in subsidies in 2020, according to state records. The 19th season of Law and Order SVU received $16 million.
Republicans took issue with the tax credit during the early portion of budget debate Monday, with Assemblymember Andrew Goodell of western New York faulting Democrats for boosting subsidies for the film industry rather than small businesses.
“This tax credit helps the filthy rich,” he said. “What are we doing to help … our local businesses across the state, not just the ones that make a fancy film with multi-millionaires in New York City once in a while? No tax credit for those folks. Too bad.”
Voting on the state budget is expected to continue Tuesday.
Tagged
economy
new york state
Politics
Kathy Hochul
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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