© 2024 New England Public Media

FCC public inspection files:
WGBYWFCRWNNZWNNUWNNZ-FMWNNI

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@nepm.org or call 413-781-2801.
PBS, NPR and local perspective for western Mass.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Massachusetts Film Tax Credit Bills Come Under Spotlight

Crews on the set of the Hulu series "Castle Rock" as it films its second season.
Tim Jones
/
MassLive / masslive.com/photos
Crews on the set of the Hulu series "Castle Rock" as it films its second season.

The Hulu series "Castle Rock" recently resumed filming in Orange and other central Massachusetts locations. Productions like this are drawn to the state, in part, because of a tax credit for filmmakers. 

Like most tax issues, this credit has sparked a lot of debate — and some criticism. A legislative committee Tuesday will hear testimony on whether to extend it permanently. It's currently scheduled to expire in 2023. 

Reporter Matt Stout from the Boston Globe has reported on the film tax credit for years.

Matt Stout, Boston Globe: The program has been around since 2006, and it includes a 25 percent payroll credit, as they call it.

But the project needs to spend at least $50,000 in the state, and do the majority of its filming here, and the majority of the work in Massachusetts. It's essentially getting 25 percent of what they spend covered for them by the state.

Carrie Healy, NEPR: And now some lawmakers are looking to extend it into perpetuity. Are they doing that because this has been so successful for TV and film in the state?

The reason they're extending it — it's not so much the money it's bringing back, economically. As a pure tax credit, it actually doesn't generate what many people would look at as successfully-used state money for generating the economy and generating sales tax.

But I think they're looking at it [as] in the time you've created this industry, in this market, where there's certain people that are relying on it. They've created this whole studio out in Devens that is attracting TV series. And it's helped cultivate — which was part of the point — a movie production and TV industry here Massachusetts.

And the fear is if you suddenly end this, the work that's gone into it essentially collapses. Because these productions will go to the places where they're able to make a business decision and save money.

And if Massachusetts isn't offering this 25 percent credit, they'll go to places like Georgia, or any one of the 31 states right now that offer some type of credit. So there's lots of competition, and that's not including Canada. 

Do supporters have the numbers of film credits and productions that have happened in the state to back up this push?

Yes. The state has what's called a Massachusetts Film Office, which essentially tracks — for the most part — all the productions that happen here. So there's an accounting of who's come here to shoot, and who's planning to.

It may not be so much that you're generating five times the amount of movies here, but they look at it as if you're able to bring in, say, a TV series.

Two years ago, they were able to bring in "Castle Rock," the Hulu production, which — as opposed to a movie, which is maybe here for a few weeks, and then it's gone, and it's never going to come back, because it's a movie, it's a one-time thing — a TV series could create jobs over the long term, because it films for longer, it puts more people to work.

And there's the idea that if it's successful, then you're looking at what comes back the year after that, and the year after that, where suddenly this production — that it's still only one production, but economically, it's making a bigger impact, because more people are working, and it's more sustained. 

As you reported, Governor Charlie Baker is not a fan of the measure.

He is not, and neither was his predecessor, Deval Patrick. Both made efforts over the years to scale back — and there's been other proposals to outright eliminate it.

There is still the question of: as much as it does for this burgeoning industry, how effective of a credit is it? And it essentially returns very little back — at least in terms of sales tax — that perhaps others do.

So the question that's hung over this whole time: is this a good way to spend state money? And essentially, should be we using state money to sort of help prop up an industry?

And you have lots of supporters. I think you see people in the legislature where they have vendors, or places where movies and so forth are shot. They see for themselves, and talk to their constituents, that they see the impact. 

Others may not as much, and they look at it as: could this X million dollars each year be going toward other things? There's always a demand for money for education, transportation — I mean, that's sort of the driver of the debate right now.

I think it tends to get a lot more credit, because you're talking about a multi-million-dollar movie that you could see in theaters. It catches people's attention, as opposed to some other tax credit. And I think that's what helps drive this debate.

But also this idea: should we be spending this money elsewhere? And I don't know if that will ever really go away, because there's always this push and pull of priorities.

Carrie Healy hosts the local broadcast of "Morning Edition" at NEPM. She also hosts the station’s weekly government and politics segment “Beacon Hill In 5” for broadcast radio and podcast syndication.
Related Content