Big improvements to New York’s film and and television production incentives, included in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal are still in place as lawmakers reached a handshake deal today, according to people familiar with the bill. The legislature is expected to vote formally next week to approve the budget.
As Deadline has reported, the incentives would raise the tax credit for film and television production back to 30% from 25% and boost the annual cap from $420 million to $700 million in a new package that runs through 2034.
The credit had been lowered by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to 25% in 2020, just as other states were increasing their tax incentive programs.
New York would also make above-the-line wage costs eligible, with some restrictions.
It wasn’t immediately clear if other provisions, like an additional 5% bump to incentivize relocation of TV series that are filming elsewhere, or terms for faster payment are also still in there. NY remains a big production destination but other states have been ramping up incentives, including neighboring New Jersey.
Gov. Hochul announced today that she and state lawmakers had agreed on a tentative $229 billion state budget. Several contentious issues — bail law, funding for charter schools, raising the minimum wage — had delayed the passage by more than a month — making this the latest budget in over a decade.
The incentive package had not included any change a measure requiring a film to have a budget of $1 million in NYC to be eligible for tax credit. Filmmakers have called that a high bar in a city with deep ties to independent film, which has been going elsewhere. However, the minimum budget is only $250k north of Westchester County.