To: The North Carolina State House, The North Carolina State Senate, and Governor Roy Cooper
Keep North Carolina Film Incentives
Working tradespeople in the filmed-entertainment community of North Carolina implore our State Representatives to maintain our current Film Incentive Program.
This 25% tax-rebate program has already created thousands of North Carolina jobs for actors, carpenters, casting directors, electricians, camera operators, grips, rigging technicians, location scouts, make-up and hair artists, drivers, advertising professionals, computer graphics artists and untold scores of additional skilled-labor positions in just a few years time.
In-state spend from visiting productions will be valued at over $1B before year five - with the vast majority of those dollars staying here in North Carolina - going to payroll and throughout the communities where productions take place. Local hotels, vehicle rental agencies, restaurants, catering businesses and myriad supporting industries are the direct beneficiaries of the cash windfall that accompanies each project.
Without incentives, productions quickly find other states that are more receptive to hosting the business. You must look no further than Michigan to see what happens when you cut Film Incentive Programs short before businesses become permanently established. Instead look to the most popular states for production away from Hollywood, like Louisiana and Georgia, who have both gone from less than $250M in their first years to nearly $10B in combined in-state spend in 2012.
North Carolina Film Incentives Put North Carolina To Work! Keep our incentives - we're just getting started.
Why is this important?
North Carolina is enjoying unprecedented growth in feature film, television series and commercial productions as a direct result of our balanced, sustainable Film Incentive Program.
With annual in-state spend approaching $500M in 2013, North Carolina was home to Iron Man, The Hunger Games and hosts ongoing series like Banshee and Homeland.
While our 25% incentive attracts Hollywood productions looking to save money through tax-rebates, the vast majority of the money spent in-state is driven to "below-the-line" tradespeople like carpenters, production assistants, electricians, grips, make-up artists, catering and craft services freelance employees. Local hotels, restaurants, retail stores and industries that support the filmed-entertainment industry reap millions of dollars from visiting productions due to the Film Incentive Program.
In the long-term, NC needs new tax legislation / tax reform to lure long-term investment from companies looking for a new, permanent home.
However, the NC Film Incentive Program should not be altered or dismantled, as doing so will simply drive productions to other states (LA, GA, OH, NY, NM among others), who have chosen to maintain their Film Incentive Programs as freestanding legislation that is unencumbered by reforms and designed to deliver rapid growth.
North Carolina Film Incentives Put North Carolina To Work!
Now you can like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KeepNCFilmIncentives