Were state lawmakers right to significantly boost funding for a motion picture tax credit program, to $30M?

KYRA SEDGWICK's film, "Space Oddity," which recently began shooting in North Kingstown, has applied for $1.5 million in state tax credits. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FILM & TELEVISION OFFICE

The new state budget includes a $10 million boost for film tax credits, raising the total annual budget for the program to $30 million.

The program gives eligible companies tax breaks of up to 30% of production expenditures made in the state. Proponents say the increased funding will help attract major productions to the state, generating jobs and local spending, while indirectly boosting tourism.

But Paul L. Dion, the state’s chief of the Office of Revenue Analysis, told PBN his department in 2018 found the state gets back only 27 cents for every dollar spent on the credit. The report also highlighted “significant noncompliance” in data-reporting requirements for the companies that get tax breaks.

Between 2009 and 2018, 13 states ended their film incentive programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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Were state lawmakers right to significantly boost funding for a motion picture tax credit program, to $30 million?

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