Mitch Perry
Going into the 2015 Legislative session, advocates for Florida hosting more film and television productions are hoping that this is finally the year that a tax incentive package to lure Hollywood productions to the Sunshine State can become a reality. Florida’s Legislature allocated $296 million in film incentives in 2010 that was supposed to last through 2016, but all the of those funds quickly went out the door, and the cupboard has been empty ever since. Meanwhile, neighboring states like Georgia and Louisiana with robust tax incentives for film and television productions continue to prosper.
To remedy that disparity, the entertainment community throughout the state last year rallied behind legislation sponsored by state Senator Nancy Detert (R-Venice) that would have added $50 million to the incentive package annually through 2020 and change how the program was structured. But that proposal failed for a second straight year. However, Senate President Andy Gardiner has said that he plans to bring up the film’s incentive program this year.
But according to a new poll paid for by the Koch Brothers’ led Americans For Prosperity, Floridians’ aren’t supportive of such a plan.
The poll, conducted by the Alexandria, VA-based Tarrance Group of 603 “likely” voters released today. It shows that 81 percent of Florida voters would prefer to focus on making the state’s tax policy fair to create more long-term jobs, rather than giving U.S. filmmakers tax breaks and incentives to film in the state.
“Men and women, young and old, Republican and Democrat (and Independent) alike all strongly come down on the side of creating long-term jobs instead of giving Hollywood tax breaks,” the pollsters write.
The poll also says that a vast majority of Florida voters “do not think that Hollywood movies create the type of long term, good-paying jobs needed in Florida.” 70 percent of Florida voters say so. Only 17 percent feel Hollywood provides these good jobs, and 13 percent are unsure.
That’s certainly not the sentiment of Hillsborough County Commissioners, who are doing as much as they can at a more modest level to lure film productions to the Tampa Bay area. The BOCC last week approved $100,000 (if matched by Pinellas County) to try to lure director Tim Burton’s next project to come to the region. A year ago, the board allocated $250,000 to be set aside for the Hollywood production, The Infiltrator, starring Bryan Cranston. However because of the fact that the Legislature did not pass an incentives bill in the 2014 session, a few scenes, and not the majority of the picture, will be filmed in Tampa this spring. They also set aside $50,000 for the Bollywood film, Saat Hindustani.
Gus Corbella is the Director of Government Law & Policy at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, and the chairman of Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council. He thinks the low support for incentives for film and TV productions may be the result of a lack of understanding how extremely fiscally conservative the incentives work in Florida.
“It requires the production be completed and double audited before any tax credits have been dispersed,” he says, adding that he doesn’t believe that most Floridians truly understand the “ripple effects” film and TV work bring to local economies. “I think that the more than Floridians learn about the incredible economic impact that this industry has on Florida, the more they understand the visibility it gives us nationally and internationally, I think the more supportive they’ll be.”
Americans for Prosperity is a conservative political advocacy group founded by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, the owners of Koch Industries. The group spent over $77 million in 2014 to try to elect conservatives to Congress.
