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Wisconsin Film Incentives
Link to new incentives modifications as per the current biennial budget: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/acts/09Act28.pdf Act 28
New Wisconsin Production Incentives Guidelines
Friends,
Thank you all for you all for the countless hours and hard work you endured over the course of the state budget process. Governor Jim Doyle yesterday issued a partial veto of the film incentives provisions added to the budget by the Wisconsin State Legislature. Governor Doyle's vetoes kept a portion of the program but made significant changes. Gov. Doyle's vetoes:
- Reduced the funding for the program from $1.5 million per year to $500,000 per year over this biennium
- Removed the sunset clause on the programmatic cap
- Lowered the threshold for production eligibility from $100,000 to $50,000.
- Removed the more extensive reporting requiring the Department of Commerce to report the number of employees and the location of dollars spent for each production
- Deletes the 20 percent credit of salaries and wages to nonresidents
- Deletes the 3 percent additional credit for resident salaries and wages in federally defined economically distressed areas
- Deletes per project caps as they are now redundant with his programmatic cap that does not sunset.
In short, the Governor signed into law a very limited, new refundable credit for the film, television and video game industries. The overall provisions are as follows:
- Fully refundable tax credit - capped at $500,000 per year in total expenditures
- 25 percent credit on the salaries and wages paid to Wisconsin residents making $250,000 on the project or less. Salaries and wages to nonresidents are not included.
- 25 percent credit on Wisconsin production expenditure purchased in Wisconsin
- 15 percent credit on film production company investments
- 35 percent of the project's total budget must be spent in Wisconsin to qualify.
- Existing film and video game-related companies that wish to expand the state are eligible for the tax incentives under the company investment credit.
- Establishes application fees
- Lowers the threshold for an accredited production from $100,000 to $50,000
- Extend the eligible timeline for video game projects from 12 to 36 months.
- The proposal eliminates the non-refundable sales tax exemption that existed in previous law.
- Ben
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Ben Nuckels
Chief of Staff
Office of Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton
For More Information
Contact:
Department of Commerce
Steve Sabatke - 608.267.0762