PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The film industry in Pennsylvania is getting a $30 million boost in state tax credits to help lure in more productions.
The Pennsylvania film tax credit, which provides incentives to production companies to shoot in the commonwealth, has stayed at $70 million for the past three years.
“It’s basically a discount,” said Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. “They get a tax credit against their spend. It will either be a 25% or 30% amount based on the kind of production they’re producing.”
The recently signed state budget now boosts the tax credit program to $100 million.
“I think the increase is great,” said Adam Leach with Blinding Edge Pictures, a local production company. “Been looking forward to this every year for a long time.”
Leach called it a big win.
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“An increase in the tax credit will give us the opportunity to look at additional productions and also just kind of grow the crew base and the vendors and the entire industry in Philadelphia, which kind of helps everybody,” he said.
While Pinkenson welcomes the increase, and it has already proved crucial for landing some big productions in the region. However, she noted the credit is split with film productions across the state, meaning the well will run dry sooner than later.
“The money goes now in days within the first month or two of the annual fiscal year,” she said.