Written by on Jun 25, 2012. Posted in Incentive News

Report on location filming incentives causes tensions in California

Disagreements about the benefits of location filming incentives are creating tensions in California. The state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is disputing two separate studies that found that California’s filming tax credit was benefitting the state economy.

One of the LAO’s queries relates to the so-called ‘crowding effect’. While the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp (LAEDC) found that the state filming incentives benefit the economy, the LAO questions how many productions not qualifying for tax relief are forced to leave the state because crew are booked up working on incentivised shoots.

[The LAO] report is very frustrating to those of us who see productions leaving the state because of incentives elsewhere.

Christine Cooper, LAEDC

Christine Cooper authored the LAEDC report: "That's laughable at a time when there are two million unemployed in California. [The LAO] report is very frustrating to those of us who see productions leaving the state because of incentives elsewhere."

While the war of words continues in California, many bigger-budget film and TV shoots are heading elsewhere in the US. FilmLA recently found that just 29% of drama TV pilots are filming in Los Angeles, compared to more than 60% five years ago.