The state’s tax credit for filmmakers has been a big hit, wooing big and small film productions to Connecticut over the past year. According to the governor’s office, more than $300 million had been spent in the state in just over 12 months since the law went into effect in 2006.
That’s significant when compared with the mere $1 million that was spent by filmmakers in the state just six months prior to the tax credit going into effect.
And so far, it appears that filmmakers continue to flock to the state. During the past two months a lone, four different film scouts checked out Trinity College as a possible place to film a movie.
That’s exactly what the legislature had in mind when it passed the tax break for filmmakers. But there’s a twist. While the film production tax credit has lured filmmakers far and wide to Connecticut, it has failed to attract video game producers.
That’s because the tax credit for video game producers is one of the state’s best kept secrets. When a Wallingford-based video gamer asked the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism about the tax credit this summer — some 13 months after the law went into effect — he was informed that he was the first to inquire about the credit.
That’s confusing, because the legislature charged the commission as the primary agency responsible to promote Connecticut, not only as an ideal location for filming, but also as a great place where video game producers and other digital media businesses should set up shop.
Although the commission managed a $24.2 million budget during fiscal year 2006, its acting executive director, Karen Senich, said there were no funds available for marketing the new tax credit.
Last month, the state’s Auditors of Public Accounts determined that the commission has been guilty of shoddy bookkeeping, had improperly monitored its grants, and in total, cited 14 areas where the agency needed to improve.
While it is unclear whether tighter fiscal controls would have unearthed some agency money for marketing purposes, press releases, picking up the phone to call video game industry associations, or spreading the word on a blog would not require an RFP or any capital expense.
The long-term goal of the film and digital tax credit law is to create a solid film and digital media production infrastructure in Connecticut. In fact, about 11 other states are actively looking to get a piece of the video game industry, also enacting tax breaks as a way to attract video game producers to their state.
And two of those states are reaching out aggressively to video game producers. It has paid off for Georgia, now home to 50 video game developers and publishers that employ about 2,000 people. While Georgia offers a 9 percent tax credit, Connecticut’s tax break is more than triple that, at 30 percent if production expenses exceed $50,000. With a deal like that, video game producers should be flocking to the state in the same manner as filmmakers.
As the state’s manufacturing work force decreases, it is imperative that Connecticut creates new industry niches.
If Connecticut doesn’t get its game face on soon, other states will win.
