PHILADELPHIA, October 5, 2021 – During last Thursday’s session of Council, Councilmember David Oh (At-Large) introduced legislation to create a new tax credit for productions that opt to film in the City of Philadelphia. Under the legislation, production companies that make a $500,000 or greater investment into a project filmed in Philadelphia are eligible to receive a twenty-five percent tax credit against local Business Income and Receipts taxes (BIRT) or Real Estate taxes. If a production company can verify at least 30 percent of crew and staff are women or racial minorities, the eligibility threshold to receive the credit is $250,000.
Under the legislation, the investment is calculated as the total funds expended by a production company as “production expenditures” incurred in the City of Philadelphia, which are directly used in a City certified production. Similar to the state’s film production incentive, the local tax credit is transferable to any Philadelphia-based taxpayer.
The legislation authorizes the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, the City Representative’s Office, and the Department of Commerce to approve or “certify” a production’s company’s application. To qualify for the credit, productions must commit to certain promotional clauses, such as including the Philadelphia promotional logo in the final credits of the film.
“I believe the incentive will position Philadelphia to receive a larger slice of the booming, multi-billion dollar film and television production industry,” said Oh.
There are no financial caps on the incentive. Upon adoption, the legislation would take effect immediately.
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