Industry Unites Behind U.S. Production Incentive As New Study Predicts Windfall In Jobs And Spending

Film and television studios, unions, guilds, film commissioners and entertainment industry groups have launched the U.S. Film & TV Production Coalition, a united front as a U.S production incentive begins to take shape.

The group launched Tuesday along with a new study by consultancy Olsberg SPI commissioned by the Motion Picture Association laying out substantial economic benefits through 2035 of a hoped for 20% federal tax credit that could be “stacked” onto state benefits to curb runaway production.

The report said the credit could create $250 billion in additional gross economic value and support an annual average of 143,50 additional jobs across the country. MPA chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin is set to unveil the report at a press conference starting shortly, joined by Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA), Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA), the DGA’s Thomas Schlamme, IATSE’s Matthew D. Loeb, Sean M. O’Brien of the International Brotherhood of Teamster and SAG-AFTRA’s Sean Astin.

“Sixty-five countries have decided it’s worth competing for film and television production. The United States hasn’t, and too many Americans have lost their jobs because of it,” said Rep. Friedman. “Every production that goes overseas takes electricians, carpenters, drivers, and small business revenue with it. A national film tax credit [is] a commonsense, bipartisan fix, and I’ll keep working to get it done.”

The push for a federal incentive to compete for production jumped into high gear after President Donald Trump‘s surprise August social media post backing the measure after a sit down with his Hollywood special ambassador, Jon Voight. The new study, which assumes U.S share of projected global production reaching 65%, is informed by historical data and recent budget analysis. It is based on a transferable tax credit of 20% on qualifying expenditures and based on an industry proposal that includes spending forecasts from 2027 to 2035.

Highlights include $249.1 billion in total gross value-added contribution from 2027 to 2035, reflecting impacts across the U.S. economy; an average of 143,500 full-time equivalent jobs supported annually across the country; $133.1 billion of additional total labor income from 2027 to 2035; and $125.3 billion in additional production expenditures. It noted that the increased spend could also reflect net new production from foreign as well as. domestic productions, implying a credit could also attract international business.

The study uses third party data to build its forecasts including from ProdPro, Congressional Budget Office, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FilmLA and the MPA.

Without the incentive, the study assumed the U.S. location share continues a gradual decline seen in recent years, reaching 25% for film and 29% for TV by 2035. With the incentive, it assumed the U.S. share increases to 65%, reaching that level by 2030 for film and 2032 for TV, and holding there.

DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander called a stackable federal tax incentive “critical for ensuring that the United States remains a competitive marketplace for production. We have been working with leaders across Washington to advance this issue through legislation and … look forward to working with the Administration and Congress on a bipartisan bill.”

“America should be producing American movies. And American workers should be doing the work. President Trump has called on Republicans and Democrats to come together on a new federal film and television incentive,” said Teamsters leader O’Brien. “It will require bipartisan support, which is a good thing, because this should not be about party politics. The Teamsters will aggressively support legislation that works for American workers and helps bring productions back home.”

The legislation currently being drafted calls for a 20% transferable tax credit with additional uplifts of 5% for labor costs incurred in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared disaster area, and 5% for independent production companies. The minimum spend is $1 million, the study said.

The hope was to introduce a bill this month but timing is an issue with so few days left in the legislative session before the midterms. Thus, the urgency.

“A federal incentive would be a gamechanger for our industry,” said MPA’s Rivkin. “This study tells us that we can bring more opportunities to life for people in all 50 states who bring great stories to life — the casts and crews, the set builders, construction workers, truck drivers, caterers, and more. That’s precisely what’s bringing President Trump, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, studios and unions and all of us together: the need to leave a positive and enduring imprint on American creativity and America’s economy.”

Members of the new U.S. Film & TV Production Coalition include Voight, the DGA, PGA, SAG-AFTRA, WGA West and East, IATSE, IBT, Association of Talent Agents, CreativeFuture, Coalition for American Production, FilmUSA, Future Film Coalition, Independent Film & Television Alliance, Laborers International Union of North America, MPA, National Association of Voice Actors, NCTA – The Internet and Television Association, Producers United and the Television Academy.