Bill Text: NY A05540 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Includes writer salaries and fees within production costs eligible for the empire state film production credit; defines "writer" as a person employed or retained to write or revise scripts, screen plays, teleplays, dialogue, sketches, routines or narrations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-09 - enacting clause stricken [A05540 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A05540-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5540
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   February 23, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, DenDEKKER, MILLMAN, WRIGHT -- read
         once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
       AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to eligibility for  the  empire
         state film production credit
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Paragraph 2 of subdivision (b) of section  24  of  the  tax
    2  law,  as added by section 1 of part P of chapter 60 of the laws of 2004,
    3  is amended to read as follows:
    4    (2) "Production costs" means any costs for tangible property used  and
    5  services performed directly and predominantly in the production (includ-
    6  ing   pre-production   and   post   production)  of  a  qualified  film.
    7  "Production costs" shall not include [(i) costs for a story,  script  or
    8  scenario  to be used for a qualified film and (ii)] wages or salaries or
    9  other compensation for writers, directors,  including  music  directors,
   10  producers  and performers (other than background actors with no scripted
   11  lines). WRITERS FEES AND SALARIES SHALL  BE  ELIGIBLE  PRODUCTION  COSTS
   12  SUBJECT  TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION (C) OF THIS SECTION; PROVIDED,
   13  HOWEVER, THAT FEES THAT ARE  BASED  ON  DEFERRED,  LEVERAGED  OR  PROFIT
   14  PARTICIPATION  COSTS,  OR  ARE IN EXCESS OF THOSE OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY
   15  SUBDIVISION (C) OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE PRODUCTION  COSTS.
   16  "Production  costs"  generally  include  technical  and  crew production
   17  costs, such as expenditures for film production facilities, or any  part
   18  thereof, props, makeup, wardrobe, film processing, camera, sound record-
   19  ing, set construction, lighting, shooting, editing and meals.
   20    S 2. Subdivision (b) of section 24 of the tax law is amended by adding
   21  a new paragraph 8 to read as follows:
   22    (8)  "WRITER"  MEANS  A WRITER EMPLOYED OR RETAINED TO WRITE OR REVISE
   23  SCRIPTS,  SCREEN  PLAYS,  TELEPLAYS,  DIALOGUE,  SKETCHES,  ROUTINES  OR
   24  NARRATIONS.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09121-01-1
       A. 5540                             2
    1    S  3. Subdivisions (c) and (d) of section 24 of the tax law are relet-
    2  tered subdivision (e) and (f) and two new subdivisions (c) and  (d)  are
    3  added to read as follows:
    4    (C) FOR A FEATURE FILM OR TELEVISION PRODUCTION WRITERS FEES AND SALA-
    5  RIES  SHALL  BE  ELIGIBLE COSTS; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, SUCH COSTS SHALL NOT
    6  EXCEED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS PER WRITER PER QUALIFIED  FILM.  PROVIDED,
    7  FURTHER,  THAT  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, A
    8  WRITER'S SERVICES SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CREDIT  UP  TO  THE  MAXIMUM
    9  AMOUNTS  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  IF SUCH WRITER IS SUBJECT TO TAXATION BY
   10  THIS STATE.
   11    (D) THE STATE ANNUALLY WILL DISBURSE NO MORE THAN FIVE MILLION DOLLARS
   12  IN TAX CREDITS FOR PRODUCTION COSTS FOR WRITERS FEES AND SALARIES PURSU-
   13  ANT TO THIS SECTION. SUCH CREDITS SHALL ONLY BE AVAILABLE  FROM  CREDITS
   14  ALLOWED FOR PRODUCTION COSTS AS DEFINED AND GOVERNED BY THIS SECTION.
   15    S  4.  The  tax law is amended by adding a new section 24-a to read as
   16  follows:
   17    S 24-A. DIVERSITY IN HIRING FOR WRITERS. WHERE MORE THAN THREE WRITERS
   18  ARE TO BE HIRED OR RETAINED FOR SERVICE ON AN ELIGIBLE PRODUCTION, CRED-
   19  ITS FOR WRITER COSTS AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO SECTION TWENTY-FOUR OF  THIS
   20  ARTICLE SHALL ONLY BE GRANTED WHERE AT LEAST ONE SUCH WRITER IS A MINOR-
   21  ITY  GROUP  MEMBER,  AS  DEFINED  BY  SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF SECTION THREE
   22  HUNDRED TEN OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, OR A WOMAN.
   23    S 5. This act shall take effect April 1, 2012.