- A new house bill could raise the minimum budget a Georgia production has to have to get the 20-30 percent tax credit.
- The bill also would limit the total amount of sales or transfers of credits within a calendar year to 2.5 percent of the governor’s revenue estimate for that year.
- Watch the video to hear from area filmmakers who could be affected by the increase.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
The Azalea City is having their moment on the big screen, but productions in Georgia might be yelling 'cut' soon.
I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta.
A house bill seeks to limit Georgia's film tax credit. I'm looking into what this means for our local filmmakers.
If you've been following my stories on affordable housing in Valdosta, chances are you might remember Steven Heddon.
He's lived in Valdosta for 25 years and is a producer for the local Evergreen Productions.
"It's a small community, and it's relaxing, but the business I'm in, you have to make your own opportunities."
Steven's mostly worked on documentaries and small films showcasing social issues in our city.
He's used to working with smaller budgets, but he has bigger visions for his local team.
"What I want to do is build a team of professionals that are ready to work on Evergreen Productions and also lend themselves to larger production companies that come into the area."
He tells me there may now be a speed bump to his plans though: a bill that would raise the minimum budget required for a film production in Georgia to receive a 20 percent credit to $1 million.
"As a smaller company right now, you have to have a $1 million budget in order to receive the tax credits. For me, I don't have those types of budgets."
Under current law, the current minimum is $500,000, which some argue is already a tall order for local and indie productions.
Doubling that could cause productions to shy away from taking their talents here.
That's also on top of limit the total amount of sales or transfers of credits within a calendar year to 2.5 percent of the governor's revenue estimate for that year.
Every dollar the government gives away" to the tax credit produces $6.30 in revenue. The House's proponents for the bill argue that Georgians lose out on about $1 billion a year due to lost tax revenue from the current program.
I also spoke with Jason Brown, director of the South Georgia Film Festival and professor at Valdosta, who tells me the current program is an even trade off.
"A big misconception is that the tax incentive takes money away from the state when in fact what's happening is money that would have been spent elsewhere is finally able to come to Georgia, so we're trading taxes for a huge amount of income into the state."
Whether the bill becomes law or not, Steven tells me he hopes the South Georgia film industry continues to flourish...
"because some people who don't have a voice, has to have someone step up and tell the stories for them."
The Georgia General Assembly will discuss the fate of this bill and others like it until March 28th, day 40 of the legislative session.
