BATON ROUGE, La. (WGNO) – Over 11,000 signatures and pleads from Lousiana’s top executives in the film industry did not sway Governor Bobby Jindal from signing a bill that would cap film tax credits in the state at $180 million.
On Friday, Jindal signed 68 bills into law including 6 related to tax credits in the motion picture industry.
WGNO spoke with Will French of the Louisiana Film & Entertainment Association, last week. He called the tax credits “a catastrophic mess,” and warned that the state’s emerging film industry could all go up in smoke if the bills were signed by Jindal.
“It seems to be an administrative nightmare to figure out whose credits you honor and whose credits you don’t. Is it first come first served? How do you know who even filed their tax return first when everybody files their taxes on the same day?,” questions French.
The Louisiana Film & Entertainment Association has promised to challenge parts of the law in court they feel is unconstitutional.
The law will affect how many tax credits can be redeemed in a given year which caps that amount at $180 million. That particular cap on the credit redemptions will exit for three years, at which point it will sunset.
There are also still a $30 million cap per project that will only impact very large studio projects in Louisiana.
