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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 2, 2024 09:54 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Camera Bartolotta |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Film Industry Tax Credit |
| In the near future, I intend to reintroduce legislation that would increase the cap on the Film Production Tax Credit’s funding from $100 million to $125 million. It was SB 478 from last Session. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s 2019-20 Film Production Tax Credit Program Report, since the program’s inception in 2007 through the end of FY 2019-20 approximately 860 applicants have applied to the program and 509 productions have been approved/awarded tax credits. These companies have directly injected nearly $3.3 billion into the state’s economy; generated an estimated $5.2 billion in total economic activity and $785 million in total state and local taxes; and supported an estimated 30,650 full-time equivalent jobs. The Commonwealth’s indigenous film and tv production industry requires a robust, sustainable, certain and competitive state film production tax credit in order to continue to be attracted to Pennsylvania. Since the state’s current tax credit program is capped at $100 million, an untold number of projects are turned away each year due to lack of funding. By mid-year when the program typically runs out of money, production companies simply look to another state because they know Pennsylvania’s program has been exhausted. They don’t even bother talking to our crews, visiting our production sites or scouting locations. Projects simply take their crew and, more importantly, their tax revenues to another state. By increasing the cap on the film production tax credit, we are taking an important first step in meeting the demand of the film and tv production industry who want to film in Pennsylvania. I know from first-hand experience that these companies want to film in Pennsylvania but right now our program cannot support their efforts. Increasing the tax credit program will bring more projects to PA and thus a larger economic impact, more jobs and more revenue to the Commonwealth. Please join me in support of this effort by cosponsoring my proposal. |