The employers actually paid that money into the unemployment fund. State government's failed economic policies ensure that more money goes out of the fund then into the fund.... which is why it is upside down in debt.
If only it would be as easy to drive out all the invaders from NY and NJ. It's always tough on those depending upon corporate welfare when it is terminated. I'm not a fan of this economic incentive whoring after businesses any more than I favor taxpayers being forced to subsidize billionaire sports team owners. What makes Hollywood producers more deserving of tax incentives than other businesses, other than they have the extortion part better worked out?
The only thing that advanced North Carolina from being a backward agricultural state with no future to a vibrant economic state is all of the expatriates who moved to the state.
Gosh, I feel like such an ingrate. Maybe if enough of you geniuses move there we can be as wonderful as NJ. On second thought, please go home. And take the mexicans with you. Somehow we will soldier on with our golf courses, beaches, mountains and universities.
This article outlines the significant loss to our state economy when film tax credits were cut in North Carolina Long read... Oscar-nominated ‘Three Billboards’ was filmed in NC, thanks to incentives. Should there be more? http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article202929559.html
From the article: "At $31 million a year (in incentives), we might get (production spending) back to $150 million – that would be a really good year." State tax giveaway: $31 MM Max return: $150 MM * 5.5% personal tax rate = $8.25 MM in tax revenue But they won't even get $8 MM. Because a lot of it would be at the 3% corporate rate and it would be reduced further by corporations deducting expenses from their revenue and being taxed on a net number. The return to the state is negative.
I'm opposed to the whole tax credit game. It's rife with potential for abuse, unfair to other businesses and of dubious economic value. If a state is going to play it however, shouldn't they waste their money on businesses that will invest in permanent facilities and hire permanent local employees? Like maybe, I don't know, a gun manufacturer? Instead of subsidizing Hollywood, which can pick up and leave the minute they get upset about something and who will be paying peanuts to local workers.
Bringing back up an old topic for a follow-up. North Carolina has effectively restored its tax incentives for filming in our state. Since the restoration the movie and TV industry has boomed in North Carolina -- pumping millions beyond the size of the tax credits into the local economy around Wilmington and across the state. As an interesting side-note -- "Florida Man" is being filmed in North Carolina. (and yes, I can think of a few snarky comments for this.) Lights, cameras of film industry make a comeback in NC https://www.wral.com/lights-cameras-of-film-industry-make-a-comeback-in-nc/19959742/ North Carolina’s link to Hollywood dates back more than 60 years, to the filming of “Davy Crocket, King of the Wild Frontier.” Since then, other blockbusters have followed, like “Bull Durham,” “Talledega Nights,” “Forrest Gump” and “Iron Man 3.” But not long after that superhero movie hit the theaters, North Carolina’s film and television industry came crashing to the ground. Lawmakers ditched an incentives program to lure productions. They also passed the controversial “Bathroom Bill” which prohibited North Carolina municipalities from establishing protections for LGBTQ people. House Bill 2 got its nickname because it required that people using public bathrooms do so only in those that aligned with the gender they were assigned at birth – a direct discrimination against transgender people. H.B. 2 sent industries, including the entertainment industry, searching for new homes. WRAL Investigates found the lights, camera, action are making a big comeback thanks to a new grant program that allows film and television productions to recoup some of the money they spend in North Carolina. Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, says 2021 is a banner year. “It is going to be the biggest year ever for production in Wilmington and North Carolina.” WRAL Investigates found the numbers bear that out. From 2016 through 2020, the movie and television industry had a $355 million impact on the state's economy. This year alone, it's expected to generate $409 million. That blows away the previous high of $340 million, which was set in 2012, the year "Iron Man 3" was filmed. While the pandemic shuttered productions briefly, Griffin says there’s actually a silver lining. “There’s just so much content now that’s being produced, all of those streaming services,” he explains. The pandemic fueled the public’s need for more entertainment. That means more consistent business for North Carolina. “Ten sound stages are occupied,” says Griffin. “There’s four productions on the studio lot. We’ve had three productions that we’ve had to find other facilities for.” While the total number of productions is still off pace from a blistering 2013, Griffin says projects are lining up. As soon as one wraps, another is under way. “Word has gotten out that North Carolina has firmed up those incentives,” says Guy Gaster, who heads up the North Carolina Film Office. When productions come to town, they spend money on clothing, set construction and essentially create full-time jobs for production contractors. “The incentive isn’t about getting Tom Cruise or any other celebrity shooting here. The real incentive is about creating those jobs,” says Gaster. Right now in the Wilmington area, at least 1,300 people are working on movies and television shows like “Florida Man,” which is shooting in a local neighborhood. For Griffin, the industry’s comeback was expected, but at a much slower pace. “We felt confident once everything got past COVID and studios figured out how we could back to work again, that it would ramp up really quickly. But I don’t think anyone would think how quickly,” Griffin said. And he sees plenty of sequels. “This time it feels different. We’re really moving forward. We’re on a roll,” says Griffin. For more information about what’s filming in our area and which productions need extras, check out the Wilmington Regional Film Commission.