Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would incentivize small filmmakers and those that have a larger economic impact in the state.
House Bill 5491 aims to expand the types of productions that are eligible for the state’s film tax credit program in fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Specifically, it would make the credit available again to smaller film productions, with at least half of their content produced in state, at least half of their personnel residing in state, and a total production cost of less than $2 million.
Budget concerns in 2013 led lawmakers to issue a moratorium on the program, though certain incentives, such as those for television, remain. Critics of film tax credits in various states have questioned whether their economic benefits are worth the tax expenditures.
Several filmmakers testified Tuesday in favor of the bill, including Wallingford’s Goodnight Film LLC, Rocky Hill’s Synthetic Cinema International, and Massachusetts’ Counterfeit Cow Productions.
Goodnight Film’s A.D. Calvo wrote in testimony that the bill would help keep filmmakers, and the people they employ, in Connecticut. Some in the industry have moved operations to Massachusetts and New York because of incentives, he said.
“It makes no sense to train and invest in a skilled labor force and then lose them, which is precisely what happened when the tax credit moratorium went into effect,” Calvo said.
Filmmaker Gregory Friedle wrote that the bill would give financial backers some insurance on their investments in projects.
“And it’s these investments that not only let us hire our cast and crew, those directly responsible for what end up on the screen, but for all the other behind-the-scenes vendors that support the production, all locally based companies,” Friedle wrote.
