NY State Senate Bill 2021-S2967

Senate Bill S2967

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Defines film zone and excludes the film zone from the additional empire state film production credit

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to investigations and government operations
Jan 26, 2021	referred to investigations and government operations

2021-S2967 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1120
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §24, Tax L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: A8463
2019-2020: S4349, A3883
2023-2024: S58, A1253

2021-S2967 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Defines film zone and excludes the film zone from the additional empire state film production credit.

2021-S2967 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2967

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the tax law, in relation to the definition of film zone
and the exclusion of the film zone from the additional empire state film
production credit

 
PURPOSE:

This bill will add areas of Rockland and Westchester which are outside
the "film zone" to the additional empire state film production credit.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends paragraph 5 of subdivision (a) of section
24 of the tax law as it relates to including areas of Rockland or West-
chester counties not located within the film zone as part of the addi-
tional empire state film production credit.

Section two of the bill amends subdivision (b) of section 24 at the tax

law as it relates to adding the definition of film zone.

Section three of the bill relates to the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2013, in an effort to provide an economic boost to certain areas of
the state, an additional 10% film production tax credit was created to
incentivize filming in certain upstate counties. Since the creation of
this additional film credit, other counties have been subsequently added
with all counties north of New York City eligible except Rockland and
Westchester counties.

The film industry uses a film zone which requires productions outside a
25 mile radius of New York City to pay additional labor rates.  These
productions outside the film zone (25 miles outside Columbus Circle) are
more expensive to film given the additional labor costs and the lack of
the additional film credit. There are portions of both Rockland and
Westchester counties which are outside the film zone and are not eligi-
ble for the additional 10% tax credit; creating a severe disadvantage to
areas that receive the additional credit and areas within the film zone.
This bill will create parity by incentivizing filming in the areas in
Rockland and Westchester that fall outside the 25 mile film zone.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S4349 referred to Investigations and Government Operations;
same as A3883 (Zebrowski) referred to ways and means; A.8463 of 2017-18

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S2967 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2967
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 26, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to the definition of film  zone
   and  the  exclusion  of the film zone from the additional empire state
   film production credit

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  5  of subdivision (a) of section 24 of the tax
 law, as amended by section 5-a of part M of chapter 59 of  the  laws  of
 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   (5)  For  the period two thousand fifteen through two thousand twenty-
 five, in addition to the amount of credit established in  paragraph  two
 of  this  subdivision, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit equal to the
 product (or pro rata share of the product, in the case of a member of  a
 partnership)  of ten percent and the amount of wages or salaries paid to
 individuals directly employed  (excluding  those  employed  as  writers,
 directors,  music  directors,  producers and performers, including back-
 ground actors with no scripted lines) by  a  qualified  film  production
 company  or a qualified independent film production company for services
 performed by those individuals in one of the counties OR AREAS specified
 in this paragraph in connection with a qualified  film  with  a  minimum
 budget of five hundred thousand dollars. For purposes of this additional
 credit,  the  services must be performed in one or more of the following
 counties OR AREAS:  Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chau-
 tauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutch-
 ess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer,
 Jefferson, Lewis,  Livingston,  Madison,  Monroe,  Montgomery,  Niagara,
 Oneida,  Onondaga,  Ontario,  Orange,  Orleans,  Oswego, Otsego, Putnam,
 Rensselaer, Saratoga,  Schenectady,  Schoharie,  Schuyler,  Seneca,  St.
 Lawrence,  Steuben,  Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washing-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03727-01-1

 S. 2967                             2
 
 ton, Wayne, Wyoming, [or] Yates, OR ANY AREA IN THE COUNTIES OF ROCKLAND
 OR WESTCHESTER WHICH IS NOT LOCATED IN THE FILM ZONE AS DEFINED IN PARA-
 GRAPH NINE OF SUBDIVISION (B) OF THIS SECTION. The aggregate  amount  of
 tax credits allowed pursuant to the authority of this paragraph shall be
 five  million  dollars  each year during the period two thousand fifteen
 through two thousand twenty-five of the annual allocation made available
 to the program pursuant to paragraph four of  subdivision  (e)  of  this
 section.  Such  aggregate  amount  of  credits shall be allocated by the
 governor's office for motion picture and  television  development  among
 taxpayers in order of priority based upon the date of filing an applica-
 tion  for allocation of film production credit with such office.  If the
 total amount of allocated credits applied for under  this  paragraph  in
 any  year  exceeds  the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed for such
 year under this paragraph, such excess shall be treated as  having  been
 applied  for  on  the first day of the next year. If the total amount of
 allocated tax credits applied for under this paragraph at the conclusion
 of any year is less than five million dollars, the  remainder  shall  be
 treated  as  part of the annual allocation made available to the program
 pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision (e) of this section.  However,
 in  no event may the total of the credits allocated under this paragraph
 and the credits allocated under paragraph five  of  subdivision  (a)  of
 section  thirty-one  of  this article exceed five million dollars in any
 year during the period two thousand fifteen through two  thousand  twen-
 ty-five.
   § 2. Subdivision (b) of section 24 of the tax law is amended by adding
 a new paragraph 9 to read as follows:
   (9) "FILM ZONE" SHALL MEAN AN AREA WITHIN A TWENTY-FIVE MILE RADIUS OF
 COLUMBUS CIRCLE IN THE BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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