Rapper, TV producer, and businessman, Curtis “50 cent” Jackson met with Governor Jeff Landry on Wednesday. Jackson established a 985-thousand-square-foot-production studio in Shreveport and he’s also purchased several properties in downtown Shreveport.
“They had a good conversation about what his investment was and how they can work together going forward,” said Louisiana Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson. Nelson said he did not meeting, but heard it was a good discussion.
In a social media post, Landry said Louisiana is lucky to have someone like Jackson investing in the state’s economy.
50-cent likely traveled to Baton Rouge to talk to Landry about the state’s film tax credit program that could be drastically changed or possibly eliminated because of the governor’s tax reform plan. Nelson says they are looking at all tax credits.
“How do you get best return for the taxpayers and especially for the Louisiana Economic Development incentives that’s what the session next year will focus on,” said Nelson. “How do we rework some of these incentives so they get the best bang for the buck for the taxpayer?”
Jackson opened G-Unit Studios in Shreveport last April and he’s invested over two million dollars in the city. State law allows for 180-million dollars in film tax credits to be claimed and each project can receive up to 40-percent of their overall in-state investment. But Nelson says studies show these types of programs are fiscally a net loss.
“Almost all of these incentive programs return about 10-cents on a dollar so we get about 18-million for the 180-million that we put in, so that’s not a great deal in the current setup. That’s part of the reason why we are looking at changing the system.”
A tax reform special session is expected in November. Tax issues can also be discussed in the 2025 regular legislative session that will begin in April.
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