July 27, 2012

NY Governor signs bill tripling post tax incentive

ALBANY, NY — The Post New York Alliance (www.postnewyork.org) recently announced that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a bill that triples the Empire State Film Post Production Credit from 10 to 30 percent (35 upstate). The bill encourages film and television productions to take advantage of its talent and facilities.

“We want to thank Senator DeFrancisco and Assemblywoman Glick for sponsoring our bill, and Governor Cuomo for signing it,” says Marcelo Gandola, SVP of Deluxe Creative Services and president of the Post New York Alliance. “The wheels of New York State government are turning in a direction that will bring thousands of new jobs to our state.”

Yana Collins Lehman, managing director of Trevanna Post and Post New York Alliance board member adds, “The film and television industry is one of our economy’s fastest growing exports. Our NYS elected officials broke new ground with the passing of this post production incentive, and the Post Alliance plans to expand the entertainment industry throughout the great state of New York.” 

“This new tax credit provides a wonderful opportunity to grow an already vibrant post production industry in New York,” notes, Domenic Rom, executive VP of Technicolor – PostWorks, New York, and a Post New York Alliance member. “We are sincerely grateful to the Governor’s office for taking this action, which will provide a direct and immediate benefit to the hard-working men and women of our industry.”

The program differs from the existing Production Tax Credit in that it applies to projects that are not necessarily shot in New York. Its primary goal is to incentivize such projects to bring their post production to New York State. The Post Production Credit is a fully-refundable 30 percent (35 percent for Upstate New York) tax credit on post production costs. A project must spend 75 percent of the post production costs in New York.