Texas has long been known as a movie-friendly state that offers many tax incentives, subsidies, and other attractive benefits for film production. The recent closing of Congress on May 29 allowed the filmmakers to secure additional pledges of financial support for next year. Thanks to two bills, statewide cinematography grants were raised to a record $200 million, up from the $45 million allocated in the last session.
Congress also agreed to conduct a lengthy study of the revenue benefits of future creation of transferable tax credit programs similar to those already in place in Georgia and Oklahoma.
Sharpened Iron Studios CEO Sean Doherty worked with the governor and Congress on these efforts. “We are confident that once the investigation is complete, Congress will understand that ‘Texas is missing an opportunity,'” Dougherty said. “The grant program is going to be very big, and we will see what it has done in the short term, so that will help, too. It will be.”
Aside from the latest legislation, the Texas Film Industry Incentive Program includes basic incentive rates of 5% to 20% based on spending within the state, plus Benefits include an additional 2.5% for the work produced. Covered expenses include wages, bills and even petty cash. There are also incentives to hire locally and no overall credit cap. Spend more, save more. After all, everything is bigger in Texas.
Filmmakers and Texans alike benefit from the present and the promise of a better future, as the state continues to encourage the movement of production within its borders.
