New York City Film Industry Ailing

TAX BREAKS: Production Unit Manager Mary Rae Thewlis at a press conference on Monday to urge the State and City to extend a tax credit to the film industry. (Jonathan Weeks/Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Members of the New York film industry came together to ask the state government to reinvest in the Empire State Film Production Tax credit. Cast members of the new television show Life on Mars were joined by union workers, representing the entire spectrum of jobs that rely on the tax credit.

The state implemented a 10 percent tax credit in 2004 and increased it to 30 percent in 2008, but $460 million worth of funding, which had been expected to last until 2013, has run out in less than a year.

According to Denis Hughes, president of The New York State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the program has run out of money and the governor’s proposed budget does not include an extension. “It is imperative to give this program certainty for thousands of workers. We are at a critical juncture,” said Hughes.

“Thousands of jobs will be gone to other states if the tax credit is not extended,” said Jim Gartland, a studio mechanic, “The film industry was born here over 85 years ago, please don’t let it die here.”

According to the 2008 Empire State Film Production Tax credit report, the tax credit gives back 30 percent of production costs with a cap of $65 million annually, to qualified film studios. One study reported that the state and city combined have collected $2.7 billion in taxes from the industry.

“The television and film industry contributes enormously to the finances of this state,” said Mary Rae Thewlis, the Director’s Guild Association (DGA) Unit Production manager. “The program more than pays for itself.

“It’s in our state’s interest to sustain the production levels and to remain competitive with other states,” added Thewlis.

The same study also found that New York’s movie and film industry created 7,031 jobs directly and another 12,481 indirectly. This includes dry cleaners, restaurant workers, lumberyards, and hotel workers.

“The popular TV show ‘Fringe’ already announced it will relocate because of uncertainty of the tax credit,” said Mike Easter, a Teamster Driver and Transportation Captain, in a press release. “The current economic climate is forcing everybody to make hard choices but this is not a hard choice. Nobody is asking for a favor or for special consideration. It just makes fiscal sense.”

“19 pilots were shot last year in New York and zero this year” said Michael Imperioli, a cast member of Life on Mars. “It’s particularly important for pilots to be shot here in case they get picked up and become a hit.” He then explained how a long-term hit show could bring large amounts of revenue to a city through tourism.