A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to bring back home a Florida industry lured away by tax breaks. Rep.Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and Sen. Annette Taddeo, D- Miami, Wednesday called on lawmakers to create the Florida Motion Picture Capital Corporation.
Their idea is to create a fund to help finance the production of motion pictures, television shows, and novellas. SB 1606 is the first step, said Taddeo and Gruters. It sets the “infrastructure” of a corporation, which invests in projects and then uses the returns on the investments to rebuild an industry that producers say has flat-lined in Florida.
Taddeo and Gruters make no request for money from the state budget, this year. They want to debate the idea of a fund and work out the procedures to invest in projects first. Then next year, they would seek startup money – between $10 million and $20 million.
“It’s a great use of money in creating jobs and asking for investments,” said Taddeo.
See more at Tallahassee Democrat.
