The General Assembly has passed and sent to Governor Donald L. Carcieri a bill providing income tax credits of up to 25 percent to production companies that shoot movies and TV shows in Rhode Island and individual investors who support them.
House Speaker William J. Murphy, who sponsored the measure – Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano did the same in his chamber – said it will make Rhode Island “the most attractive state on the East Coast for filmmakers and will enable us to compete with states in other parts of the country, as well as Canada, to attract our share of this lucrative industry.”
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Several other states offer similar tax credits. A Carcieri spokesman said the governor would likely allow this bill to become law without his signature.
The credit program is built on the notion that, as a preamble put it, “the motion picture industry brings with it a much needed infusion of capital into areas of the state which may be economically depressed,” and the “multiplier effect” of investment can “stimulate economic activity beyond that immediately apparent on the film set.”
The credit would be twofold: Individual investors who spend $300,000 to $5 million on a production can take a 15-percent credit on their income taxes, usable over three years, or if they spend over $5 million, they can take a 25-percent credit. Movie production companies can take a 25-percent credit on their corporate income tax if they spend at least $300,000 here.
At a news conference earlier this year, Blake Masters, who will be shooting the Showtime series Brotherhood in Rhode Island, and made the pilot here last year, praised the measure and said it would lure more filmmakers to the state.
Showtime hired 150 crewmembers, 300 film extras and spent $4 million during the three weeks it filmed the pilot, according to Murphy’s office. There will be 11 more episodes shot in the state this year, with filming to begin next month.
Steven Feinberg, Director of the Rhode Island Film and Television Office, predicted in a news release that the state would make “three times” the cost of the credits through the “amazing tourism impact” of having movies and TV shows filmed here.
The full text of the bill is available here.
