A legislative auditor’s report indicates the state’s Motion Picture Income Tax Credit (MPITC) appears to have a positive impact on the economy. Economist Ed Seyler said it does generate more household income than it costs the state…
“However, the program does not generate enough state tax revenue to make up for revenue that the state loses, and so overall it’s a negative from a revenue perspective,” said Seyler.
The report also looked at what areas of the state benefit the most from the MPITC and its overwhelmingly southeast Louisiana. Seventy-two percent of the jobs and 78% of the productions are in the New Orleans area. But Seyler said it may be possible for other areas, especially Shreveport and Lafayette, to grow their motion picture industries.
“But they would be some of the smallest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, to have a substantial motion picture industry with at least 100 jobs consistently from year-to-year,” said Seyler.
Legislation to renew the state’s MPITC for 10 years when it expires in 2025 passed in the House but still has to be approved in the Senate.
Seyler said if providing more data to show which locations benefit from the MPITC and possibly direct stakeholders to grow the industry in other sections of the state…
“That could be something that would be a positive for the program and a positive for those areas outside the core,” said Seyler.
And while the report indicates overall the tax credit appears to have a positive impact because it generates more household income than it costs the state, the credit does not generate enough tax revenue to make up for what the state loses in revenue.
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