As the tax credit funds dry up, and productions begin to flee New York City, those in the entertainment industry gathered at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens last night to hold a news conference and ask politicians to expand the program. The NY Times reminds us that it "offers studios tax credits from the city and state for up to 35 percent of the production costs," but as previously reported, the $690 million meant to last another four years is already gone.
On top of bringing money to the city and state, it also helps preserve up to 19,000 jobs and generates money for local businesses. To put the importance of the incentives in perspective, last year 19 pilots were filmed here, and right now there are zero planned for this year. On top of that, shows that already film here are departing—Fringe is heading to Vancouver come May, leaving 200 workers behind. One idea from the conference was to lower the percentage from 30 to 20 percent "and limit the total amount distributed to $100 million a year."
The fate of the program is now in Paterson's hands, and hopefully he'll listen to one of the folks who spoke last night—one Law & Order crew member declared: "This program more than pays for itself. This is not charity. It generates revenue at a time when the state is desperately in need of money."
