California TV/Film Tax Credit Lottery June 1
UPDATED: The California Film Commission will hold a lottery on June 1st to select which qualified movie and TV production projects will receive the next $100M allocation of tax credits awarded under the state’s production incentive program. The commission will accept applications at its Hollywood Blvd. office on June 1 from 9AM to 3PM, at which time the lottery will be held. Applications received after 3PM will be processed the following day, according to the commission’s website. Projects that are not selected for credits via the first day’s lottery will be wait-listed, as some of the chosen projects drop out and credits become available. Of the total, $100 annual allocation, $10 million is reserved for indie films with minimum budgets of $1 million and maximum qualified expenditure budgets of $10 million. Feature films with budgets up to $75 million are eligible for a 20% credit. TV movies and miniseries with a minimum budget of $500,000 are also eligible for the 20% credit. New TV series licensed for cable TV are eligible if they meet minimum budget and other requirements. Existing TV series that formerly filmed all previous episodes outside California, as well as indie films, are eligible for a 25% credit, subject to budget and other restrictions. More information is available here.
A lottery for a tax credit. Great. They’ve turned the jobs market in to gambling.
The lottery is to prevent a first come first served award, which would be a disaster. First come first served would mean that projects certain to shoot in California anyways would be in line weeks ahead of time. The lottery cuts down on that possibility in a HUGE way.
How is this news?? It happens every year. The only portion of this that is worthy of coverage is how small the annual allowance is in California compared to other incentive states (and that is completely ignored). Let’s all dance while Rome burns and our bedrock industry leaves town for places like Atlanta. Or better yet, maybe it is time for the Industry workers to WAKE UP and get involved. Support SB 1167 and AB 2026 and get off your butt and call your state reps to do the same.
Absolutely ridiculous to have a lottery system! Jobs are LEAVING California for other states and countries! If I’m a producer w/ a budget AND a deadline, I would not be signing up for a lottery system in the hopes of keeping the work here. Other states are giving incentives right off the bat, and California thinks a lottery system for a possible discount will keep me from moving the production elsewhere? REALLY? Apparently they’re not too familiar w/ the words “Time is money”. The state is financially broke and it is very obvious why we’re in this mess.
Maybe you would not, but dozens of producers are. The lottery is necessary because there is “only” $100 million in available credits (which still places California in the top five states for annual spending on credits). And the credit has kept almost 200 films and shows in California in the last three years: Super 8, The Muppets, Drive, Crazy Stupid Love, Argo, Moneyball, We Bought a Zoo…etc. Is the program ideal? No. But it is keeping thousands of jobs and $3 billion in combined production budgets (thus far) in the state.
Jobs are leaving the state and country. If CA thinks a producer will sit and hope to get a tax credit while I’ve got a budget AND time deadline to maintain, they’re completely wrong. No wonder this state is financially broke! Other states give out tax credits immediately, CA thinks I’ll wait and hope I win the lottery just to produce here. TIME IS MONEY!
$100 is a lot of money for California.
This lottery system is idiotic. Only in California.
What would you replace it with? Given there are more applicants than there is available money, would you rather have first come first served?? They are being smart, not idiotic.