NEW YORK—New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. joined actors, crew, producers, and representatives of the Film and Television Industry Unions to call on the Governor to extend the Empire State Tax Credit Program so as to save production jobs from fleeing New York for other locales.
“The Empire State Tax Credit Program affects a wide range of individuals and businesses across the city and state,” Thompson said at a news conference at the New York City Municipal Building at One Centre Street. “I am urging the Governor to extend this tax credit to help sustain job creation in this vital New York industry, and am further asking the State to apply federal stimulus funds for this purpose.”
Standing with the Comptroller were: award-winning actress Lorraine Bracco; actor and former Screen Actors Guild (SAG) National President Richard Masur; former Sopranos actor Matt Servitto; the President of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 52 Studio Mechanics, John Ford; President and Business Representative at United Scenic Artists Local 829, Beverly Miller; East Coast Representative at IATSE Local 600 International Cinematographers Guild, John Amman; and, President of Green Street Production House, John Penotti.
“We are at a critical juncture,” Masur said. “We are losing jobs right now. Good paying jobs, with benefits, are leaving New York as we speak because of the lack of funding for this program. As the State Legislature debates the 2009 budget, it is imperative that this program be given certainty by lifting the cap and making the program permanent. The program creates jobs and provides significant tax revenue to the State treasury. It’s just the kind of economic push that New York State needs right now. It just makes fiscal sense.”
Thompson also explained: “To those who would question funding for a tax credit during a fiscal downturn, I would counter that this program has been enormously successful in increasing employment and providing a boost to a host of local businesses - from caterers to post-production houses - that serve the film industry.
The news conference is part of Thompson’s efforts to urge the Governor to address the issue. On February 25, Thompson wrote to the Governor, asking him to implement an extension or face the hemorrhaging of jobs out of New York.
In the letter - available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov - Thompson noted that California and Michigan have increased incentives to lure business away from New York. In addition, Fox’s “Fringe” television show recently left New York City to take advantage of better financial incentives elsewhere.
“In a bit of irony that should give us all pause, the $100 million tax incentive package lawmakers are considering now in California has become known as the `Ugly Betty Production Credit,' after the television production relocated from L.A. to New York last year, and has since shot numerous scenes right here in our building,” Thompson said.
The Comptroller said the movie and television production industry employs 30,000 people directly in the city and tens of thousands indirectly in related fields. In 2008, the first year the incentive program was instituted, the number of shooting days in New York City averaged 30,500, compared to an average of less than 20,000 in the years from 1993 to 2005. He also cited a recent Ernst & Young study of the film industry that found that for each dollar in credits, the State and City collected $1.90 in tax revenues.
“The renewal of this credit should not be up for discussion,” Thompson said. “During this recession, the State should be supporting programs that spur economic development, not canceling them.”
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