2-15-08
Film Tax Renewal Approved by House, Still Waiting Senate Approval
The Illinois film industry was hopeful at press time that the state senate would renew the expired Illinois Film Tax Credit when the legislature returned to Springfield on Feb. 13 following the election recess.
In early January the state house voted 107-7 for a bill that would renew Illinois’ 20 percent credit on production expenditures through Dec. 31 of this year. The renewal had not reached the senate floor when the legislature went into recess.
According to the Illinois Film Office web site, “Governor Blagojevich remains committed to the credit and we have every confidence that the credit will be extended as soon as the state’s budget issues are resolved.”
Both the house and senate versions “preserve all the gains we made,” extending the same benefits as the expired credit, according to Eileen Willenborg, executive director of AFTRA/SAG Chicago and vice president of the Illinois Production Alliance, a leading advocate for the credit.
The Film Tax Credit is widely credited with 2007’s unprecedented level of in-state production, with industry estimates of a record-breaking $175 million in direct spending on film, TV and commercials.
First introduced in 2004 as a 25 percent return on in-state labor expenditures, which amounts to about 10 percent of a typical local spend, the credit was expanded in 2006 to the current, transferable 20 percent credit.
The expanded credit expired Dec. 31, 2007, held up by the legislative impasse over transit funding and the rest of the state budget.
Anticipating the expiration, the Illinois Film Office encouraged producers who were considering an in-state shoot to file their tax credit applications before the end of the year, assuring that approved productions would be eligible for the credit so long as they “complete statutory requirements” within two years of the application.
Any applications approved before the expiration are still being honored.