New York Film Production Tax Credit Expanded to Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Green, Sullivan and Delaware Counties
Film production brings many economic benefits to the locations where it occurs. Hotel rooms get booked, restaurants and caterers get business, drivers, carpenters and electricians get work, and that does not include all the specifically film-oriented jobs including actors, production assistants, technicians, costume, hair and makeup people, and more. Fees are often paid to the owners of shooting locations. Many regions of the country compete as locations for film production. For better or worse, incentives in the form of tax credits play an important role in attracting these productions. The power of these tax credits was evident in North Carolina. Dozens of films were shot in the state, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. However, when the tax credit expired and was not renewed at the end of 2014, film production came to a complete halt.
With that as the national background, New York, and especially New York City, has always been a center of production for film, television, video and also commercial and fashion photography. But like everywhere else, New York has had to provide incentives to keep film and TV productions going. Recently, producers were afforded a 30% tax credit on various qualified costs of production or post-production. New York City offered its own incentives. In order to promote economic activity outside the New York City metropolitan region, an additional 10% credit was afforded for activity in a number of counties. However, the Hudson Valley was excluded. This was the worst possible situation, making us more expensive than both New York City and the regions upstate and out west.
Last week, however, the State came to the rescue. The additional 10% tax credit was extended to Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Columbia, Green, Sullivan and Delaware counties. This boost is expected to result in more film production in these counties.
Here at J&G, in addition to representing film producers, and assisting municipalities in drafting film ordinances, we got our moment in front of the camera. A film entitled The UnWanted was looking for a law office and we were happy to oblige. You can see some of the photos here.
Gary Schuster is a Partner with the firm and practices Arts & Entertainment and Business Law. He can be reached by phone at 866-303-9595 toll free or 845-764-9656 and by email.
