Spokane7
59°
February 16, 2012 in Opinion
Editorial: Filmmaking tax credit deserves another run
Nothing quite creates a buzz in downtown Spokane like a staged collision.
Preplanned mayhem was a staple of many movies shot here by North by Northwest Productions in recent years. But the lapse last year of an important tax credit turned off the spotlights, and with them the paychecks of dozens of Spokane actors, technicians and others associated with film, video and commercial production.
The Washington Senate reauthorized the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program last year, but the measure was left on the cutting room floor when representatives left Olympia without taking a vote. On Tuesday, the Senate voted 40-8 to revive the program.
It’s time for the House to get the picture.
The law allows Washington corporations to contribute to a fund that helps attract film and video productions to the state. The contributions – up to a total $3.5 million per year – are deducted from their business and occupation tax obligations. Avista and Washington Trust Bank were among the first companies to participate, and North by Northwest was among the first companies to benefit and keep benefiting, as did other Spokane companies.
The funds are administered by the nonprofit Washington Filmworks, which says 71 projects received assistance from the program. More than 4,000 film crew members drew paychecks, as did almost 700 actors and 5,000 extras. Producers had to provide health and retirement benefits.
A Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee estimated that each dollar in state money generated $1.99 in economic activity. Through 2009, producers had spent $36 million in the state and paid more than $800,000 in sales taxes.
Recipients are required to document in-state spending before getting program money, and JLARC called for improved reporting.
The new legislation enhances the program by making the money available to producers for the Internet, gaming and other new media platforms, and boosting the allowable level of assistance for a series with multiple episodes.
Washington Filmworks Executive Director Amy Lillard said several potential projects that wanted to shoot in Washington walked away when the state assistance was no longer available. With 44 other states chasing the same business, there are plenty of alternatives. British Columbia, a Washington look-alike, has become a movie and video production mecca.
If legislators do not renew the program, Filmworks itself will close its doors July 1, eliminating Washington’s single point of contact for producers. It will follow the state’s tourism office into oblivion, making the Evergreen State a black hole for anyone on the outside trying to look in.
Tax breaks are a touchy subject given Washington’s budget woes, but the Competitive Program has undergone – and survived – exceptional scrutiny. This is an investment worthy of a sequel.
To respond to this editorial online, go to www.spokesman.com and click on Opinion under the Topics menu.
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DickAdams on February 16 at 8:18 a.m.
Ever notice Avista uses there customers money for stuff like this and usually with it comes another increase in electricity rates.
rosehips on February 16 at 10:40 a.m.
I like this program. I hope the House follows the Senate and we can keep those jobs within Washington. I like that recipients have to document in-state spending. Does this mean they must spend a certain percentage of their money in-state?
Benaround on February 16 at 11:31 a.m.
I agree and only wish more of my sales tax and fees could go
to help Hollywood.
I want more families holding 2-jobs so our taxes and fees can allow more Electric- Tesla and Fisker Sports Cars be sold to
Hollywood at reasonable subsidized prices. (200K)
I am glad the Spokesman-Review endorsed Patty Murray
because she could get more Federal Spending for our
State than some clown who was concerned with not destroying
our children and grand children’s future.
Let’s keep the idiots that work for a living paying their fair-share
of subsidies to Hollywood.
gmorton on February 16 at 12:36 p.m.
Benaround wrote,
“Let’s keep the idiots that work for a living paying their fair-share
of subsidies to Hollywood.”
Yes indeed.
Amazing how these paeans to subsidies always manage to magically create money: “each dollar in state money generated $1.99 in economic activity.”
Wow! $0.99 in FREE MONEY!
No mention, course, of how much economic activity was killed when the $1 was seized from the taxpayer.
Benaround on February 16 at 1:00 p.m.
G.Morton:
Dog the Bounty-Hunter couldn’t find an actual Accountant
who is a Democrat.
Pixie-Dust and Arithmetic are direct opposites.
The_Seer on February 17 at 11:44 a.m.
NXNW would be long dead without government assistance. They should spend more time improving their production values and storytelling than devising means to bilk taxpayers.
But then we wouldn’t have such treasures as The Basket.
Gimme a break….
MFR on February 20 at 11:28 a.m.
seriously? if you don’t like the films that are made in WA, then don’t watch them! We can’t get movies like Sleepless in Seattle, Twilight and the recent 50/50 which all take place in WA state but are filmed in Oregon and Canada BECAUSE, of the incentives these locations offer that we don’t! And if you seriously think the money from the B&O tax credit is going to Hollywood and that taxpayers are being “bilked” then I suggest you go to washingtonfilmworks.org and learn about what you are speaking of before you comment comfortably from behind your keyboard. Call any number of Hotels, Restaurants, car services, lumber supply stores, storage facilities, rental companies…(the list goes on) and ask them how much their revenue increases when there is a film in town. This incentive money stays in WA and benefits WA DIRECTLY. All films must prove that a minimum of 30% of their budget is spent here- they are not bringing crews up from Hollywood either- they are all WA residents- There is an entire industry of unemployed people in this state praying this goes thru so they can pay their rent and feed their children just like any other industry. Do a little research on Louisiana…It is literally the new Hollywood because of their incentive program. More films are being made there then anywhere else (including CA) and that state is rolling in it- studios are literally being built there because of it- Many actors are buying homes and enrolling their children in schools there because of it. Meanwhile WA has no tourism office and soon no film office…cool, lets just all sit here in the dark and not accept anyone else’s money to benefit our great state…talk about progress…..
MFR on February 20 at 11:32 a.m.
***meaning budgets the size of Sleepless in Seattle again. like we once could attract when they shot that here… due to the fact 44 other states have incentives we wouldn’t.
The_Seer on February 21 at 3:02 p.m.
mfr: Lousiana and other southern states are attracting the film production world because of their anti-union right to work status and avoidance of pesky laws like only allowing children to work 4 hours a day. Hollywood used to get around that law by using twins and working them in shifts. California has just become too onerous a business climate for them because Californians decided they didn’t want working conditions that mirror a Charles Dickens novel.
MFR on February 23 at 1:28 p.m.
theseer: tell that to the union BAs that have been on set representing all of the IATSE, DGA and SAG film employees on Iron Man 3, Hornets Nest, Little Red Wagon, Dear John, Green Hornet, Drive Angry, Iceman….and the list goes on….you are correct, many of them are a right to work state, but that is not at all the main reason films go there to shoot…..also, on of the great things about the film incentives is that it requires that even the non union employees receive benefits. Here is a pretty cool blog with a little more info on the WA incentive and films that were not shot here, but the story takes place in WA.
http://ginalockhart.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/what-all-washington-state-residents-should-know-about-sb-5539/