Assembly Bill 1069 (Fuentes) was signed into law by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to extend funding for California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The one-year, $100 million extension ensures that tax credits will be available through fiscal year 2014-15.
The original five-year, $500-million program was enacted in 2009 as part of an economic stimulus package to increase film and TV production spending, jobs and tax revenues in California. The program was set to expire in fiscal 2013-14. The one-year extension provides added continuity and certainty to a program that has proved very successful.
The Film & Television Tax Credit Program is fully subscribed for the current 2011-12 fiscal year. The California Film Commission is maintaining a waiting list for any projects that apply. Applications for the next fiscal year’s $100 million allocation of tax credits will be accepted starting June 1, 2012.
Since it was enacted in 2009, the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program has served as an effective tool in the fight against “runaway production,” helping keep scores of productions and tens of thousands of jobs in California.
Based on spending estimates by approved film and TV projects, the program is responsible for generating an estimated $2.8 billion in direct spending statewide, including $1 billion in wages to 27,000 below-the-line crew members.
