We have long opposed the Massachusetts Film Tax Credit. Two years ago we noted that in 2014, Hollywood took us for $64.5 million. In 2015, the cost in revenue was $72.5 million. The numbers are out for 2016 and we lost $88.8 million in revenue that year.
Giving money to Hollywood is bad enough. Due to the industry’s creative accounting, most films never make a profit on paper. As a result, the film tax credits are never used to pay taxes accrued on the films. Instead, many of them are sold off at a discount to non-film Massachusetts businesses, causing a loss in tax revenue.
The legislature’s excuse is that films create jobs. In 2017, the average salary in Massachusetts was $62,110. It cost $102,888 in tax credits for each job created. Additionally, a film won’t get a tax credit unless it spends more than $50,000 in Massachusetts. Your small up and coming local film maker doesn’t benefit from the tax credits. We are losing on the deal and Hollywood is profiting.
The legislature is good at giving our money away to Hollywood, General Electric, Amazon and many other companies. It is past time we ended these corporate subsidies. We need your help getting Pirates into the legislature who will roll back these expensive and useless tax breaks. Please support us with your time and money.
We have long opposed the Massachusetts Film Tax Credit. Two years ago we noted that in 2014, Hollywood took us for $64.5 million. In 2015, the cost in revenue was $72.5 million. The numbers are out for 2016 and we lost $88.8 million in revenue that year.
Giving money to Hollywood is bad enough. Due to the industry’s creative accounting, most films never make a profit on paper. As a result, the film tax credits are never used to pay taxes accrued on the films. Instead, many of them are sold off at a discount to non-film Massachusetts businesses, causing a loss in tax revenue.
The legislature’s excuse is that films create jobs. In 2017, the average salary in Massachusetts was $62,110. It cost $102,888 in tax credits for each job created. Additionally, a film won’t get a tax credit unless it spends more than $50,000 in Massachusetts. Your small up and coming local film maker doesn’t benefit from the tax credits. We are losing on the deal and Hollywood is profiting.
The legislature is good at giving our money away to Hollywood, General Electric, Amazon and many other companies. It is past time we ended these corporate subsidies. We need your help getting Pirates into the legislature who will roll back these expensive and useless tax breaks. Please support us with your time and money.