Kelsey Moore, Executive Director of Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition:
The Georgia film industry has created billions of dollars in economic impact and thousands of jobs for Georgians across the state. When HB 1180 was discussed and passed on the House floor today, Georgia House legislators vocalized their desire to create a long-term sustainable relationship with the film industry and continue to support the growth of this homegrown Georgia industry.
The current version of HB 1180 includes additional options for productions to earn the 10% uplift and proposes no limits on how many tax credits can be self-utilized by a production company. While the current legislation sets the limit on the amount of credits that can be transferred in an annual year at 2.5% of the state’s budget — about $900 million in 2026, the year the legislation would go into effect if passed — a built-in escalation mechanism allows for the amount of credits to increase as the state budget grows.
Georgia legislators and state leaders have a long history of bipartisan, pro-job creation policy decisions that have allowed our state’s film and television production industry to compete on the world stage. We are optimistic that Georgia will maintain our position as a top choice for film and television production and see continued growth. Just this week at a celebration of the 50th year of the Georgia Film Office, top state leaders reinforced their support of Georgia’s film and television production industry:
“We’re proud Georgia is a global leader in this industry and that we are continuing to see growth in this field.” — Gov. Brian P. Kemp
“Georgia is a partner to business, and we will continue to be a partner to the film industry for the next 50 years.” — Pat Wilson, Commissioner of Georgia Department of Economic Development
And Rep. Kasey Carpenter, sponsor of HB 1180, said that the intent of the legislation is “to ensure the whole ecosystem of film is growing in Georgia” when presenting to the House Ways & Means Income Tax Subcommittee.
While GSEC believes Georgia’s film tax incentive is working as intended just the way it is, we will continue to work with Georgia’s policymakers to ensure that Georgia can maintain our state’s successful film tax credit and the economic opportunity it fuels for nearly 60,000 Georgians and thousands of businesses operating across the state.
