Relates to raising existing and creating new tax credits for qualifying commercial production companies

Summary of provisions

Section 1 extends the tax credit for qualified commercial production companies to taxable years beginning before January first, two thousand seventeen.

Section 2 amends section 28 of the tax law to increase the amount of credit available to eligible production companies to the product of eight percent of the qualified production costs paid or incurred in the production of a qualified commercial. Additionally, this section creates a new tax credit under the empire state commercial production credit for eligible post-production companies. The amount of this credit shall be the product of twenty percent for qualified post-production costs paid or incurred in the production of a qualified commercial. To be eligible for this credit, the total qualified production costs must be greater than one hundred thousand dollars in the aggregate during the calendar year for work performed in the state.

Section 3 amends the closing paragraph of subdivision (a) of section 28 of the tax law to add commercial post-production companies.

Section 4 provides that post-production costs shall not include the editing of previously produced content for a qualified commercial except as otherwise provided specifically herein.

Section 5 amends subdivision (b) of section 28 of the tax law to define a qualified commercial post-production company.

Section 6 extends the tax credit for eligible taxpayers pursuant to provisions of section 28 of the tax law to taxable years beginning before January first, two thousand seventeen.

Section 7 amends section 7 of part I of chapter 59 of the laws of 2012 and part V of chapter 62 of the laws of 2006 relating to the empire state commercial production tax credit to extend the tax credit to calendar years beginning before January 1, 2017.

Section 8 sets the effective date as immediate.

Justification

The current Empire State film production credit disburses three million of the total seven million in tax credits to eligible production companies who film or record a qualified commercial in upstate New York. If this money is not used up at the end of the year, the remaining amount goes to eligible production companies who film or record a qualified commercial in New York City.

This bill seeks to encourage the three million in tax credits allocated for outside of New York City to be fully utilized. To do so, this bill does two things. First, it increases the amount of tax credit available to eligible production companies from the product of five percent of the qualified production costs to the product of eight percent of these costs. Second, it creates a new tax credit for eligible post-production companies in the amount of the product of twenty percent of post-production costs. Post-production companies are eligible for the credit if total qualified production costs are greater than S100,000.

Lastly, this bill extends the availability of such tax credits to taxable years beginning before January first, two thousand seventeen.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

Immediate.