Lawmakers want to give filmmakers a break and a place to shoot
Friday, June 5th, 2009
By: Shai Ben-Yaacov
sben-yaacov@whyy.org
Proponents of Pennsylvania's film tax credit are firing back at Senate Republicans who want to cut the incentive for production companies from this year's state budget. A recent report indicates the state could call it a wrap if the tax credit goes away.
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Sharon Pinkinson, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, has spent her career trying to bring film production companies to the state. She says despite the state's diverse array of settings from scenic landscapes to bustling cities the competition to draw films is fierce.
Pinkinson: The filmmakers are poised waiting to decide where they are going to take their films they want to shoot in Southeastern Pennsylvania and in other parts of the state to see what the Pennsylvania legislators are going to do.
The tax credit provides a break on up to 25 percent of filmmakers production costs. Some lawmakers say the credit doesn't bring in enough to justify itself, while others argue the industry created 4,000 jobs in the last two years.