skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Will Gov's Plan Send Hollywood Packing?

play audio
Play

Monday, February 8, 2010   

BOSTON - From Cameron Diaz to Steve Martin, some of Hollywood's top stars have come to work on movies in the Bay State. Big-budget movie productions have been on the rise in recent years, aided by film tax credits - tax breaks for filmmakers who shoot at least a portion of their productions in Massachusetts.

Governor Deval Patrick's recent proposal to put a cap on those credits has groups connected with the entertainment industry concerned. Mary Fifield, spokesperson with the Massachusetts Production Coalition, says the cap could mean far fewer productions, fewer jobs and less money.

"In its first four years the film tax credit has generated over a billion dollars in new direct spending, scores of new Massachusetts businesses, and thousands of new Massachusetts jobs."

While big Hollywood productions usually bring crew and actors from Los Angeles, they also hire a substantial number of Massachusetts workers - carpenters, caterers, and even local actors like Chuck Slavin, a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA), who has worked steadily in recent years. Slavin says many businesses, from restaurants to lumberyards, have reaped the rewards.

"For a lot of these businesses, the money coming in from movies has literally been able to keep them alive. These tax credits on a whole, it's money coming in that we would never get."

Cyndi Roy is with the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration & Finance. She says a $4 billion dollar loss in state revenue left the Governor with some difficult, but necessary, budget decisions, and putting a cap on the film tax credit was one of them.

"We think that continuing to invest a significant sum, $50 million in each of the next two years, will allow the industry to continue to grow, and we'll continue to bring jobs here."

According to Governor Patrick's office, the proposed cap would be temporary, and would still offer credits up to $50 million for fiscal years 2011 and 2012.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021