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Georgia gives tax break to movie and television producers

The Georgia State Senate recently approved a bill that gives significant tax breaks to producers of movies, television shows, and video games who use Georgia labor and facilities. These tax credits will be a boon not only to the state of Georgia - whose businesses and workers will find new, eager customers - but also to Hollywood studios who might be able to move their productions away from some of the competitive Canadian filming locations.

Georgia's May 9, 2005 House Bill # 539, a production tax credit for the State of Georgia, was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue. This incentive provides a base tax credit of 9 percent on a production's 'Georgia spend', including non-resident labor, with a salary cap of $500,000 on any single salary, plus a bonus 3% for amounts spent on Georgia labor, plus a bonus 2 percent for serial television projects whose annual production exceeds $20 million, plus a bonus 3 percent for any production expenses incurred in a low income county within the State. The bill can be viewed in detail at the Georgia General Assembly website. This new credit also includes commercial production and video gaming, and is in addition to the tax incentive already on the books in Georgia, which provides for a point of sale exemption on State sales and use tax.

This new incentive puts Georgia on Hollywood's short list of approved locations. Major studios' tax officials have deemed Georgia's new incentive to be one of the most user friendly, and most economically attractive that they've seen so far. However, while Georgia's production resources are extensive, as evidenced in the Georgia Film and Video Source Book, the rush in Hollywood to budget shows for Georgia sets the stage for a scene where demand might soon outweigh supply.

For more information on producing your next project in Georgia, contact Riverwood Studios Inc. or the Georgia Film and Video office. Georgia offers diverse topography, a strong production base of crew, equipment, facilities, great weather, and easy access via Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson Intl. Airport. Most notably, Delta Airlines and Air Tran offer more than 20 daily flights from Los Angeles to Atlanta, and Delta even provides non- stop service from Burbank to Atlanta.

Riverwood is Georgia's only independent design-built motion picture studio, located on 120 acres, 25 miles south of Atlanta's airport. It has 4 soundstages (offering minimum STC ratings and NRC's of 55), construction mill, production offices, hair/makeup facilities, a 5-acre shooting lake, swamp, forest and field locations on site with low ambient sound, and much more. Peachtree City, Griffin, and Newnan, GA offer close proximity and a wide range of hotels, restaurants, and condominiums.

Riverwood Studios has an eye on Christian filmmakers and wants to bring Christian influence into mainstream movies. For more information on Riverwood, contact Scott Tigchelaar at scottt@riverwoodstudios.com or phone 770-599-4000.