(to the tune of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars)
HOLLYWOOD!!!
And think of this as you face service cuts in police, fire, teachers, and services, communities of Massachusetts and the state tells you it has no money.
You are driving back to your home when....
"the movie shoot was muted by the cinch-tight security around the set and surrounding neighborhood. Streets in the area were closed to all but resident traffic, and police stood sentry, quizzing drivers.... In recent weeks, the movie’s crew has taken over Gaslight brasserie in the South End and the Worcester Regional Airport.... film industry is already getting “big tax credits’’ for film work done in the state"
Yeah, that is a GOOD USE of YOUR TAX MONEY and POLICE, Bay-Staters!
Add that taxpayer cost to the credits!!
"State should yell ‘cut’ to film tax credit" by Joan Fitzgerald and Peter Enrich | February 19, 2010
IT STARTED with Canadian cities luring movie producers with subsidies when the Canadian dollar was low. Then a few US states got into the competition and the race was on. Now, Massachusetts is competing with at least 45 states in offering film tax credits, with some states paying as much as 50 percent of a movie’s production costs.
Are states benefiting from this competition? There are potentially two types of benefits - gaining new long-term jobs and a less tangible (and implausible) possibility that people who see the film will be motivated to locate their businesses and major conventions in the state.
The supposed pay-off in film employment in Massachusetts is clearly not happening. The Department of Revenue data show that, even assuming that all the jobs in the industry are entirely attributable to the credits, Massachusetts spent $94,000 in credits per full-time equivalent job with salary and benefits of about $68,000. That is a losing bargain.
Hey, there are certain interests at the bottom of everything that need to be served.
Measured by the tax revenues generated by the subsidized film productions, Massachusetts only gets back about 16 cents per dollar invested.
See: Hollywood Helps Mass. Workers
The evidence isn’t any better elsewhere. Connecticut gets an 8-cent return on the dollar, and Rhode Island reaps 28 cents. Michigan state senator Nancy Cassis puts the irrationality of the spending in perspective: “The state needs more than 20,000 small businesses, or almost 148,000 taxpayers with an income of $45,000, just to pay for the credits next year. It takes 789 individuals or 109 small businesses to fund a single star in a movie.’’
But when they walk by on the street, SWOON!
Pffft!
Related: Game Report: Mass. Loses to Michigan
Actually, now I am feeling like we won. You can have the tax looters, Michigan -- and you are in worse shape than us.
And that’s exactly what states are financing - skyrocketing marketing costs and the exorbitant pay that top stars get per film. Research by Susan Christopherson of Cornell University shows that producers are no longer employees, but subcontractors to the six major production companies -
How is that helping any state or any taxpayer anywhere when they are losing money to profitable Hollywood?
As subcontractors, they are responsible for financing the production. In the pursuit of upfront cash, they play states off against each other.
Ain't Hollywood nice?
And states are eager to play - competing to pay for up to half of these costs, most of which go to the stars and the production companies.
Thanks for looking after YOUR CITIZENS and SALARY-PAYERS, government.
The Commonwealth’s expenses can only be justified if they are creating long-term employment here in Massachusetts. But these jobs are predominantly transient. The contract workers that fill the new jobs work on a project-by-project basis and typically move on when the film is done shooting. More than 40 percent of the wages that are subsidized through the credit are paid to people who both live outside of Massachusetts and were paid more than $1 million on the project. These are not expenses that will be recycled in the local economy.
Several states are cutting back, and in the case of Wisconsin, limiting tax credits to the creation of permanent jobs. That was the rationale behind the failed attempt to provide a $50 million bonding subsidy for road, water, and sewer construction to Plymouth Rock Studios - that its $400-million complex would create up to 4,000 permanent jobs.
See: Hollywood S***s on Massachusetts
Yeah, the politicians got taken in by a slick-talking s***ter!
But the evidence on creating permanent film centers outside of New York and Los Angeles is not compelling. Toronto bought a 20 percent stake to entice Filmport to build large movie studio complex there. The $65 million facility has not attracted a single major production since it was completed in 2008.
Massachusetts expects to spend some $150 million in film credits this year, which will bring little long-term benefit to the state. That money could be much better spent on education and training, roads and bridges, and similar services that really can strengthen the state’s economy.
Couldn't that money be BETTER USED someplace else, taxpayers?
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
The Hollywood Heist of Massachusetts
What Is Wrong With Hollywood
I don't want MY TAX DOLLARS SUBSIDIZING that CRAP!!!!!!
Of course, the agenda-pushing Boston Globe shouts "Action" with a front-page feature in the business section that is more often :
"Film projection; With tax credits and facilities, state can build stable movie sector, study says" by Robert Gavin, Globe Staff | February 11, 2010
Massachusetts has the potential to develop a small but robust film industry that could establish the state as a leading production center and support thousands of good-paying jobs, according to a study to be released today by the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Boosted by a generous tax credit, Massachusetts has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing locations for film and television production since 2005, with employment in the industry jumping about 30 percent, according to the study. But the state has more than just incentives to offer, it said, Massachusetts has a base of facilities and available skills; a ready labor force from film programs at local universities; a variety of service firms that support production; and a technology sector of software firms and video game developers that is well-positioned to exploit an accelerating shift to digital entertainment.
Is it worth the loss of the tax loot as services are decimated, residents of Massachusetts?
“There is something here to build on,’’ said David Terkla, a UMass-Boston economics professor and a coauthor of the study. “We’re never going to be the feature film center, but this is a part of the arts sector that can employ a reasonable amount of people at pretty good salaries.’’
Ye$, and we know where it come$ from and to who and where it goes.
The study was released as Governor Deval Patrick has proposed cutting the money available for the state’s film tax credit, a discount offered to companies that bring productions to Massachusetts, to $50 million a year from about $125 million. In an interview with Globe reporters and editors yesterday, Patrick said cutting the credit was among the many steps needed to close a sizable budget gap.
Yeah, but THIS will be PRESERVED, just watch.
“I support the film tax credit,’’ Patrick said. “I can see what it’s done in rapidly incubating that industry. But we’re at a place today where we have to make those kinds of choices.’’
Another reason we need and want to dump him.
Film tax credits have been controversial. Critics say they subsidize Hollywood moguls and provide short-lived and minimal benefits for the local economy. A recent study by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue found that each dollar spent on the tax credit generated only 16 cents in taxes for the state.
Why do I sense a BUT coming?
The UMass-Boston study did not address the impact of the tax credit but provided a profile of the industry and the economic activity it generates. Its authors praised the revenue department study but said tax collections are only one measure of an industry’s economic activity.
The state’s film industry is still small, employing about 6,000 in 2008, compared with nearly 150,000 in California. But it has added jobs quickly as overall state employment fell.
Nearly 30 films and television shows were filmed in Massachusetts in the past two years, including....
Oh, I feel sooooo honored!
Go back to the cesspool of Hollywood, looters!
The study estimated that the film industry in 2008 created about $1 billion in economic activity in Massachusetts, as every dollar spent directly generated nearly another dollar in activity.
Yeah, all "estimates" -- which means AGENDA-PUSHING BULLSHIT!!!
Yeah, the lead business feature of that day.
And if this study is true, why are OUR TAX ROLLS also DIPPING??
It appears that tax credits are not the sole reason, the study said. States with more generous tax credits, such as Michigan, experienced declines in film and television employment.
Massachusetts offers a variety of locations - urban, rural, and coastal - and a world-class city, Boston, which is attractive to movie executives and stars, the study said. Production facilities include public television station WGBH, which produces nonfiction programs, and a ready workforce, including film graduates from schools such as Emerson College and Boston University.
As the digital revolution in filmmaking accelerates, production will become decentralized away from Hollywood and New York, the study said, providing opportunities for Massachusetts.
Oh, opportunities for us, huh?
The "opportunity" to be LOOTED by HOLLYWOOD, 'eh, Glob?
“This is a rapidly growing industry,’’ said Pacey C. Foster, a study coauthor. “The question for the long term is whether this is all incentive driven. The answer depends on what you think is going to happen to the media industry.’’
I want my money back.
--more--"
And the agenda-pushing editorial staff?
"Film tax credit boosts state, shouldn’t be subject to cap
There should be no question about the value of the film industry to Massachusetts. Among the millions of international moviegoers watching Boston-based films are people looking to locate their businesses, plan major conventions, and book vacations. The people of the Bay State are justly proud of their image. The film credit conveys that image to the world.Ye$, the IMAGE i$ $o important!
It gives Boston, in particular, the world-class status it needs and deserves.
Yeah, just don't go to the bathroom when you are here.
Related:
Oh, yeah, and don't lunch in Boston, either.
The film credit has been a success and deserves to continue without a cap.
What an AGENDA-PUSHING LIAR, 'eh, readers?
Certainly explains the business section crapola the Globe is spilling out, doesn't it?
It is plainly worth the money.
Yeah, especially when you are not footing the bill you money-losing fraud of a newspaper!
--more--"
So who does the Globe like giving your tax loot to, fellow residents?
"Taking sides on Mass. film tax credit
The lines are drawn on the debate over the state’s film tax credit program, which Governor Deval Patrick is proposing to cap in an effort to reduce the Bay State’s burgeoning budget gap. At a crowded State House hearing yesterday, opponents of Patrick’s plan said the flood of film and TV projects has been beneficial, and not because we get to gawk at Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise, and Christopher Walken while they’re filming around town.
Yeah, subsidize the star salaries while your services are slashed, taxpayers.
“No one’s starstruck here. I have no interest in being in a movie,’’ Tim Kirwan, GM of the InterContinental Boston, told us afterward. “This is about business.’’
With capital $s.
Is it ever. The InterContinental and other local hotels have hosted those Hollywood casts and crews. Patrick is proposing to cap the tax credit at $50 million a year, down from about $125 million, and the governor’s got a supporter in Michael Widmer, president of the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation. “In my 20 years at the foundation . . . I would say this is probably the most costly tax credit with the least economic benefit in my experience,’’ said Widmer.
Now open up that wallet a little wider, taxpayers.
TV producer Michael Maschio, who worked “Spenser: For Hire’’ back in the day, said he’s in town shooting a pilot for ABC pilot, which could generate as much as $2 million per episode for the state. “We wouldn’t be here with this show if it were not for the tax incentives,’’ he told lawmakers. “It will leave in a heartbeat if we don’t get this tax credit.’’
I'll be waving at you!
Byyyyyyeeeeee!!!!!
Don't let the door hit you in the ass when I slam it!
--more--"
The slaves heard your demands, master:
"Bid to ax tax break for films rejected; Panel votes 8-0, in hope of job rise" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | March 12, 2010
Maybe that $150 MILLION in TAX LOOT could put a FEW PEOPLE to WORK -- like all the laid-off firefighters, teachers, and cops coming!
A legislative committee yesterday rejected a bill that would have sharply curtailed the state’s tax credit for the film industry, saying the legislation would hurt a thriving industry that is one of the few bright spots in a dour Massachusetts economy.
And yet other days they tell us everyone added jobs.
Yup, FORGET the LOSS of TAX LOOT and the DEFICITS of the state, taxpayers!!!
And FORGET the thought of the Globe being a newspaper looking out for your interests; they look out for the interests of (rhymes with) the you-know-whos.
The Revenue Committee’s 8-0 vote was a sign the controversial credit could survive this year, even as Governor Deval Patrick has proposed trimming it to help close the state’s budget gap for the next fiscal year.
Yeah, even that is no good enough for Hollywood.
You would think they might want to pitch in since we are all in this together(?), but NOPE!
It should be called SELFISHWOOD!
Besides, we would be better off without that immoral s*** hole; most of the movies I have listed as favorites come from people outside Hollywood.
Supporters of the film industry praised the vote, contending that when many businesses are shedding jobs, the tax incentive has helped to bring thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to Massachusetts....
And they TOOK AS MUCH AWAY in TAX LOOT, folks!
What a bunch of LYING SCUMS!!!!
Critics have contended that the credit does not bring sufficient economic activity to justify its cost, which is about $100 million this fiscal year and is projected to grow to about $125 million next fiscal year.
So we have sent HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of DOLLARS OUT the DOOR while SERVICES have been CUT and TAXES RAISED, Massachusetts?
Smells like you got took.
In July, a Department of Revenue report found that Massachusetts reaps only 16 cents for every dollar the state spends on the incentive and that much of the benefit from the program flows to out-of-state companies and workers.
Is that a GOOD RETURN?
How long are YOU in BUSINESS with those kinds of "investments," dear readers?
“All the evidence shows that this is a very costly tax credit with minimal economic impact, and the failure to limit it will require deeper cuts in other state programs, including aid to cities and towns,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-funded watchdog group. “The consequences for local schools and human services, which are already bearing the brunt of cuts, are very serious.’’
Yes, I HOPE YOU are HAPPY with the way the lying, looting legislators of this state are spending your hard-earned tax dough, Bay-Staters!
Senator Benjamin B. Downing, a Pittsfield Democrat and Senate chairman of the Revenue Committee, essentially abstained from yesterday’s vote. Downing said the bill deserved further consideration because, while the tax credit might be creating jobs, lawmakers must consider cutting it in a dire budget year.
“Everything has to be on the table in a crisis like this,’’ said Downing. “I don’t want to be making promises to an industry that we are not able to uphold as we go through the budget process and through this year.’’
Look, he is more worried about making the tax payments to Hollywood than saving your services and tax money!
Representative Jay R. Kaufman, a Lexington Democrat who is the committee’s House chairman, disagreed. He said that the credit has not only created jobs but sparked interest from developers who want to build studios in Massachusetts.
Like the slick-talking Plymouth s***ter who duped you all?
“We looked at it as something that promises tax returns over time and an investment worth making,’’ Kaufman said.
The bill would have drastically reduced the credit, in part by capping it at $7 million per film....
You mean it is a lot more now?
Now WHAT could YOUR COMMUNITY do with $7 MILLION dollars, huh?
My stinky, PoS town would be set for the next decade.
Representative Steven J. D’Amico, a Seekonk Democrat who sponsored the bill that was rejected by the committee, said he would continue pushing the issue.
“Every dollar we waste on a Hollywood dream is a dollar less we’ll have to provide education for our kids or fire safety or mental health support,’’ he said.
So what?
That's not who the papers and state government serve.
--more--"
Oh, I am so relieved!
What do you mean Avatar didn't win the Oscar?
Pffft!
Preservation bid lags for Hollywood landmark
Oh, boo-hoo-hoo.
Don't look to me for any money; we have given you quite enough for your stinking sign.
