Mass. tax credits used to cover movie stars' wages

[WestVirginiaRebel]

boston.com:

BOSTON—A quarter of the tax breaks given to movie companies under Massachusetts' film tax credit program have gone to help filmmakers cover the paychecks of millionaire Hollywood stars.
An Associated Press review of a Department of Revenue report on the tax credit program found that $82 million of the $330 million in film spending eligible for credits in 2009 went to pay the salaries of nonresident actors earning more than $1 million.

Under the program a filmmaker can apply for a tax credit equal to 25 percent of a film's production and payroll costs.

In 2009, film companies applied for a total of $82.4 million in credits in Massachusetts.

Critics have complained the state shouldn't be giving what amounts to tax subsidies for Hollywood stars, but supporters say that without the program, there would be virtually no feature films shot in Massachusetts.

The Department of Revenue considers every feature film shot in Massachusetts in 2009 as new spending directly related to the tax credit program. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia also have film tax credit programs, some more generous than Massachusetts.

While movie star wages make up sizable chunk of the tax credits, the salaries of Massachusetts workers also factored into the equation.

The report said film companies paid more than $42 million in salaries and wages to local workers in 2009. Supporters of the film credit program said those jobs wouldn't exist without the tax breaks.

"What we consider most important about the film tax credit is its long-term results, including the jobs created not only within the film industry but in local businesses," said Joe Maiella, president of Massachusetts Production Coalition, which represents the film industry.

Supporters of the tax break point out that movie stars do not directly receive a tax break. Instead the film companies that hire them are able to use their salaries, and other production costs, to request tax credits.

Backers also note that actors must continue to pay state taxes on all residual income they earn in future years for the films they make here.
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Hey, Hollywood elites need money just like other unemployed bums do...