Newsom Proposes Expanding California Film and TV Tax Credit to at Least $1 Billion, Extending It Through 2040
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in Hollywood on November 2 that he is proposing to expand California's Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $750 million to at least $1 billion a year, making it the nation's largest capped film and TV tax credit, and to extend the program through 2040. Newsom also renewed his call for Congress to pass the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act (MPTERA) by the end of the year.
"California created the modern entertainment industry; we're the capital of entertainment and we're going to keep it here. At least $1 billion in tax credits means more investment flowing into our economy and more opportunity across the industry," Newsom said. "But states can't shoulder the cost alone, which is why I am calling on Congress to back up an expanded tax credit by passing national film and TV tax credit legislation already on the table."
The proposal would raise annual funding to over $1 billion; expand eligibility to above-the-line compensation as a qualified expenditure, subject to appropriate caps; extend the credit's sunset from five to ten years, running through 2040; add a 5% credit boost for companies that commit to at least two distinct qualifying productions in California; and increase independent film funding to $100 million a year, up $26 million from the current program.
The Governor's office said the first year of last year's expansion, which raised the annual credit from $330 million to $750 million (a $3.75 billion investment over five years through 2030), delivered an 82% increase in applications, $8.25 billion in direct production spending to date (including $5.3 billion in qualified expenditures and $3.2 billion in qualified wages), more than 43,000 cast and crew jobs, and over 8,600 filming days statewide, with film shoot days up 52% year over year and TV shoot days up more than 7%.
Since its inception in 2009, the program has generated over $35.4 billion in economic activity and supported more than 248,000 cast and crew jobs; historically, each $1.00 of tax credit awarded has returned $24.40 in economic output, $16.14 in GDP and $8.60 in wages, according to the Governor's office. Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of GO-Biz, said a $1 billion credit would strengthen California's creative industries and support more good-paying jobs, and California Film Commission Director Colleen Bell called the credit one of the state's most important tools to increase production and support crews.
At the federal level, Newsom has previously announced support for legislation creating a 20% federal film and TV tax credit that can stack with state programs.
(Source: Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州州长Gavin Newsom在州长讲台前举行新闻发布会（资料图）。加州州长办公室摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference at the Governor's podium (file photo). Office of the Governor of California, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
