Tedisco: Cut Hollywood Millionaires Tax Credit to #bFair2DirectCare

New York State Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C,I,REF-Glenville) today is calling for $45 million to be cut from the state’s $420 million film and television production tax credit and diverted to help increase salaries for direct care workers who provide compassionate care to some of New York’s most vulnerable populations, people with developmental disabilities.

The Governor’s budget and 30-day amendments to the state’s fiscal plan failed to include any salary increases for the professionals who work at New York’s ARCs and other agencies that care for 130,000 developmentally disabled individuals in our state.  Tedisco will be advocating to his colleagues in the Senate to make this funding change in its version of the budget which is due next month.

New York’s ARCs are facing enormous pressure to recruit and retain qualified employees in light of last year’s minimum wage hike as some direct care workers have left to support their own families by finding work in the service sector and in fast food jobs that pay better.

A recent study found that 90 percent of the money spent on film productions in the past two years was spent in New York City and only 14 percent of direct jobs created by the film industry were created in Upstate New York.

“Our state should be placing at least as high a priority in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest individuals to care for our developmentally disabled citizens as it does in luring Hollywood studios to film in New York City,” said Tedisco. 

“The highest priority of any state budget is to start by helping those who are most vulnerable.  We need to be fair to direct care workers here in New York and not line the pockets of rich movie stars and fat cat Hollywood executives who have shown a pretty abysmal record of creating real jobs Upstate. Our loved ones deserve nothing less,” said Tedisco.