US federal film and TV tax credit inches closer as lawmakers introduce bill

US Senator Adam Schiff

A group of bipartisan lawmakers have introduced legislation in the US Senate to set up a federal film and TV tax credit, a potentially game-changing incentive that, if passed, could redraw the global production map.

The bill, currently titled the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, calls for a 20% credit on US labour, with additional add-ons that climb to 30%.

In order to be eligible, a project would need to have a budget of more than US$1m, with 75% of production taking place in the US.

The bill was introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday by Senators Tim Scott, Adam Schiff, John Cornyn and Reverend Raphael Warnock and representatives Nathaniel Moran and Linda Sánchez.

In a statement, California democrat Schiff said “we have the best opportunity in decades to get it done.”

The introduction of the bill comes less than a month after US president Donald Trump endorsed the creation of a federal tax credit.

In a Truth Social post on August 31, he said: “I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America. Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America. It can be done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America.”

Jon Voight, who was appointed as Trump’s special ambassador to Hollywood, has been working behind the scenes for the past 18 months to put a federal tax credit on the legislative agenda. Those efforts have been backed by major US studios and streamers, as well as industry representatives in various states, whom have collectively lobbied in favour of a nationwide incentive.

When it was first suggested, last year, that Voight may convince Trump to consider a federal tax credit, many did not take it seriously as the belief was that such an incentive could be viewed as subsidising Hollywood elites, which would play badly with Trump’s base.

However, in recent months the focus has shifted to how a federal tax credit could protect working class jobs, with Republican and Democratic lawmakers getting behind it.

Shortly after Trump endorsed the bill, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) published a report claiming American production spending could more than double to US$38bn by 2035.

The report, which was conducted by consultancy first Olsberg SPI and commissioned by MPA, also said that in the absence of a federal incentive, US production spending would remain flat over the next nine years. MPA also projects that the legislation could inject US$250bn into the US economy, creating as many as 145,000 new jobs annually across the country.

In a statement published after the bill was introduced, MPA chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said the tax credit would “deliver a true gamechanger for American creators, workers, and businesses.”