California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 132 into law on July 10 amid an ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America and with the looming threat of a SAG-AFTRA strike that came to fruition late last week. The new law extends through 2032 the existing film tax credit, which was set to expire on June 30, 2025.
Film Credit 4.0, designed to compete with Georgia’s film tax credit, features some new and interesting twists.
One of the biggest criticisms of Film Credit 3.0 was that it was nonrefundable. The only thing a production could do if the credit exceeded the tax liability was carry the credit forward. If a studio had no tax liability, the credit was worthless, because it would expire before the studio could use it. And while California is home to several major production companies, only two—the Walt Disney Co. and NBCUniversal Media LLC—had enough tax liability to take full advantage of the program, leaving everyone else effectively shut out. See more.
