The proposal, unveiled Thursday, is targeted for mainstream production; however, adult is not excluded from the plan, according to an official at the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., which is involved with film permitting within the city.
Hahn's proposal is a straight rebate, in which companies would get back 5 percent of below-the-line costs on the first $12.5 million in production costs. Below-the-line costs don’t include payments for talent and creative personnel, such as a director, but do include actual costs for set-up, cinematography, catering and expenditures for location.
The plan, if approved, would be another reason for the nearly 200 adult production companies in the Los Angeles area to shoot within the city, which includes the San Fernando Valley.
According to Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., the Los Angeles area employs nearly 6,000 adult actors and production jobs.
The proposal could disburse as much as $15 million in the first year, said Hahn, who hopes that the plan would begin with the new fiscal year in July. The incentive would come out of the city’s general fund, which currently stands at about $3.6 billion annually.
Within the last year, Los Angeles has overhauled business tax codes to give significant tax breaks to small- and medium-sized production companies, as well as exempt locally based writers, actors and other artists from city taxes provided they earn no more than $300,000 annually.
Hahn’s latest proposal could complement another plan by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is expected to offer a broad tax credit when at least 75 percent of a production is done in the state.
Both Hahn’s plan and Schwarzenegger’s imminent proposal are reactionary ones. New York recently began offering a 10 percent tax credit in the state and a separate 5 percent credit in New York.
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