Film & TV Coalition Presses For Quick Action On Federal Incentive; Lawmakers Plan Announcement This Week, GOP Senator Said To Back Proposal

A coalition of leaders across the entertainment industry and Capitol Hill lawmakers pressed for urgent action on a proposal for a federal film tax incentive to respond to a flight of production to other countries.

The proposal has gained new momentum since President Donald Trump announced his support earlier this month.

Key lawmakers behind the proposal indicated that there would be an announcement later this week as they work on draft legislation.

In a press call organized by the Motion Picture Association shortly after the release of a report on the need and benefit of a federal incentive, Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) told reporters, “The investments that we give, the incentives that we give, pays off in huge dividends for taxpayers and for communities. So there’s every reason to do this, and no reason not to do it. And the ball is rolling right now because we have seen so much production leave the U.S. and we see what that leaves behind.”

Friedman and Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA) are among the House lawmakers working on proposed legislation. Jack said that they would have “some additional news later this week, just demonstrating the momentum we feel here in Congress.”

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has been working on a proposal on the Senate side and during the press call, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was identified as another supporter, per IATSE President Matthew Loeb.

A number of the speakers credited Jon Voight, serving as Trump’s ambassador to Hollywood, as a key part of the effort. Last year, Trump initially proposed tariffs on overseas productions, but that was met instead with a push for incentives. “We all saw the kind of evolution of the president’s direction on this,” Jack said. “We saw last year he offered a few policy prescriptions, and just recently he offered a push for legislative action. That is because of Jon Voight.”

Voight said on the call, “It’s a very serious situation, and it breaks my heart. Our president is a compassionate man. He was impressed too by the unanimity of the unions and the people on both sides of the aisle in Congress.”

No legislation is expected to pass before the midterms, but there is hope for movement in the lame duck session, emphasizing the urgency of the loss of jobs and the current support from the White House and from lawmakers n both sides of the aisle.

Producer Steven Paul said, “I’m going to be brave one to say we have got to get it done before the end of the year.”

MPA Chairman Charles Rivkin said that he agreed, and “I certainly hope that is the case.”

“We have everything teed up in a nice way, but we have to get this right. It’s got to really work, and work for all 50 states and all Americans. And that’s what we’re striving to do right now,” Rivkin said.

While the speakers talked of the support they have received across party lines, there is always the possibility of a backlash as a bill works its way through Congress. Shortly after Trump’s announcement, The Wall Street Journal editorial page weighed in, calling the incentive a “handout” to Hollywood.

Speakers on the call emphasized that the incentive is a jobs proposal, with widespread benefit to crew members and supporting businesses.

Friedman suggested that the spread of production across the U.S. — lured by state incentives — have changed perceptions of the industry. She called the production in states like New Jersey, Texas and Georgia “a living example of the economic engine that the industry can be and what a multiplier those productions are when they kind of roll into town. And so we have turned a lot of Congress members into believers in the industry and boosters and supporters. And it’s bipartisan.”

She also said, “Tax incentives are nothing new to the U.S. … We give incentives to energy companies, to the maker of semiconductor chips, to companies that do R&D in a variety of fields. We already incentivized industries that we think are important for the United States.”

Sean Astin, the president of SAG-AFTRA, noted that such incentives are offered across all kinds of industries, and to “kind of trade on the idea that Hollywood is somehow morally beneath the government is really insulting to the 143,000 jobs per month, per year, that this incentive portends. It’s great for people to kick the tires, to be critical and everything else, but let’s value the lives and work our human beings in this industry, the same way we would anyone else when making these evaluations.”