Connecticut Film Jobs Could Suffer from Cap

Posted on February 24, 2009

Some Connecticut film jobs could suffer as state officials limit tax incentives offered by the state.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has proposed capping Connecticut‘s film production tax credit at $30 million per year. Opponents of the cap say this would cause members of the movie industry to relocate, possibly causing the loss of several jobs. According to an article by TMCnet, several advocates for the industry protested this week at the Legislative Office Building.

“We have over 400 people here today that have all been part of the explosive growth in this industry,” Kevin Segalla, president of the Connecticut Film Center in Stamford, who represented the recently formed Connecticut Production Coalition, said in the article.

The state currently offers tax credits to film production companies that spend more than $50 million in Connecticut equal to 30 percent of qualifying expenses, and the credits can be sold or traded. Since the program began in 2006, 93 movies have been produced in the state. Of those movies, 43 received tax credits, spent $341 million, created 2,174 new jobs and collected $3.8 million in payroll taxes.

Such movies as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Righteous Kill and Revolutionary Road have helped boost the state’s economy, including location scouts, electricians, bars, restaurants, hotels, tourist spots, furniture renters and lawyers.

John Ford, president of Local 52 of the Motion Picture Studio Mechanics, worked on only one major film, Sleepers, in Connecticut before 2006.

“We had 17 or 18 big-budget features in 2007 alone,” Ford said in the article. “In the span of a couple months, everybody was working in Connecticut.”