While the Trump administration has moved on from when it was first talking about offering federal-level incentives to rehome US production, the industry, it seems, has not. At a time when the US as a whole is now forced to compete with lower-cost foreign destinations to attract productions, it could be an interesting sweetener, as our Blake & Wang P.A. best entertainment lawyers in los angeles, Brandon Blake, shares.
The US Production Flight
For those tracing the flight of productions from US shores, there has long been one piece of the puzzle missing: a federal film office, or even a tax incentive that could put the government to work to rebuild the domestic location industry.
While the initially proposed “100% tariff” on film production outside the US was dead in the water to start with, we are finally seeing some more grounded proposals reach lawmakers, as well as several high-profile celebrities trying to rally attention for the cause.
Growing Momentum
The same talk reached this year’s CinemaCon, where the MPA Chairman and CEO noted that the campaign is making progress, as well as highlighting recent changes in New Jersey and California.
If, as he said, they are indeed engaging at the Congressional level to try and implement a federal film tax incentive and making meaningful progress, this could be the missing piece of the puzzle needed to support the domestic film industry at a national level, instead of relying on states alone.
It’s not much to go on (for now), but it’s the most concrete sign that something is underway that we have seen so far. Should such an incentive finally see daylight, there would be a lot of refinement needed, from whether it will be capped to who will be eligible, and there would doubtless be an interval for the states themselves to weigh in. However, it’s good to know a helping governmental hand could still be in the works- and one a lot more realistic and workable than another tariff, too.
Film and Television 