Film industry backs permanent tax credits

• Advocate staff report
• Published: May 6, 2009

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State tax credits sold by filmmakers to support Louisiana-based productions should be made permanent and shouldn’t be rolled back, members of a film industry group agreed at a Tuesday night meeting. Yet to be determined is whether the Legislature will agree and whether it will back the current 25 percent production tax credit as a permanent incentive or raise the credit to 30 percent, something proposed by state Sen. Robert Adley, D-Benton, in Senate Bill 245.

The Baton Rouge Film Industry Meetup, along with members from a sister statewide group, heard input from industry professionals based as far away as Shreveport.

“Louisiana has a lot of competition right now, and we’re seeing these other states eat into our competition,” said Amy Mitchell Smith, executive director of the Baton Rouge Film Commission, who said the region had lost multiple films recently to Bulgaria for competitive reasons that include financial considerations.

“We’re hearing great positive things about industry support for Sen. Adley’s bill,” said Chuck Bush, a film and video game producer who cautioned that film tax credits would fall to 20 percent next year and 15 percent in 2012 without action.

Chris Stelly, who leads film development for the state’s entertainment office, said his role to the Legislature is informational only and he can’t lobby for changes. But he said, “I think our leaders recognize the great investments we’ve made already as a state. It’s a pivotal, pivotal session.”