WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats in Congress have introduced the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, which aims to bring entertainment productions back to the United States from foreign countries through federal tax incentives.
Following President Trump’s call for Congress to establish a federal production incentive to bring entertainment jobs and production back to America, this bill would establish a 20% base tax credit for qualifying film, television, and visual effects (VFX) projects that are produced in the United States.
U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) introduced the legislation on Sept. 24.
In the House, Representative Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas-01), Representatives Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.-38), Brian Jack (R-Ga.-03), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.-30), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.-08), Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28), Mike Carey (R-Ohio-15), and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.-03) introduced companion legislation in the House.
Backers of the legislation included the Motion Picture Association, companies like Paramount and NBCUniversal and a variety of unions.
Those supporters include the American Federation of Musicians, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Coalition for American Production (CAP), CreativeFuture, Directors Guild of America (DGA), FilmUSA, Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Motion Picture Association (MPA), Paramount, Producers Guild of America (PGA), Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Teamsters, Television Academy, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) have endorsed the legislation.
“Having worked in a movie theater growing up, I saw early on how films can move and inspire generations of Americans. Films like ‘The Notebook’ bring us to tears, and films like ‘Forrest Gump’ inspire us to see the world differently. That is the power of film, and South Carolina is blessed to serve as the backdrop for both of these iconic American stories,” said Sen. Scott. “We cannot stand by as more and more American film production moves overseas, taking jobs, investment, and an important source of American cultural influence with it. This legislation will create jobs in communities across America, support local economies, and help ensure that the next generation of iconic American films is made right here in America.”
“The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act would deliver a true gamechanger for American creators, workers, and businesses – a federal incentive that supercharges production at home, fuels jobs and growth in local communities, and makes the United States a more competitive destination for the next generation of great film and television," MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said in a statement. "There’s a reason everyone from President Trump to a bipartisan group of members in Congress to studios, unions, guilds, and more want to get this done. Passing this legislation could inject $250 billion into the country’s economy and deliver nearly 145,000 new jobs every year across all 50 states. That’s a story we can write together by enacting this bill, to ensure that more stories are crafted, created, and made here in America."
The bill would also provide optional 5% bonus credits that could be stacked on top of the 20% base credit, with the total credit capped at 30%. Bonus credits could be received through:
- Production in rural Opportunity Zones or federally declared disaster zones
- Multi-state productions
- Production is completed by an independent producer
- Film companies that increase their number of domestic productions relative to their previous foreign investment
- The tax credit would exclude live sporting events, sexually explicit material, marketing, daytime-drama shows, award event programming, social media posts, and other non-legacy media productions.
Several states have established their own economic incentives, but the lack of a unified federal incentive has left the United States behind as productions leave for countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, the backers of the legislation argued.
Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists President Sean Astin said that “SAG-AFTRA is proud to partner with our fellow unions, industry and policymakers in a bipartisan effort to rescue the domestic film and television business. The money is being invested, the productions are being made, the jobs are being created, just not in America. This is a jobs bill and that is exactly what our members want to see. We have the infrastructure. We have the crews. We have the talent. Now all we need is a level playing field. We are the storytellers who inform and entertain the world. Let's get back to doing that right here at home. Thank you, Senators Scott and Schiff and Representatives Moran, Sánchez, Friedman, and Jack, for championing this critical legislation,” said
Chairman and CEO of Paramount David Ellison and NBC Universal Entertainment chairman Donna Langley were also among those who backed the bill.
“Paramount fully supports this legislation, and thanks Senator Scott for his bipartisan leadership on this important issue," Ellison said in a statement issued just days after Paramount settled antitrust litigation by making commitments to maintain a certain production levels.
"America’s highly-skilled production workforce— including camera operators, set production designers, editors, visual effects artists, lighting and sound crews, costume and makeup teams, transportation workers filmmakers, and countless others — are critical to our nation’s economy, and have built and powered one of this country’s greatest cultural exports," he added. "We believe now is the time to pursue this important legislation, so we can support our critical production workers and make more films and TV right here at home. Paramount will continue working closely with our union partners and the broader creative industry at every level to help support this effort.”
“A federal incentive that complements existing state programs would help level the playing field, drive economic growth, create high-skill jobs, and ensure more film and television production is made in America by one of the nation's most dynamic industries," added Donna Langley.
