Tinsel Town's tax departments have Georgia on their
mind
Georgia, Aug 03, 2005 The entertainment industry is
applauding the benefits and broad scope of Georgia's recently passed
tax credit, known as the Georgia Entertainment
Industry Investment Act.
This incentive provides a tax credit of up to 17% on a
production's 'Georgia spend', including a bonus for series
television and Georgia labor*. Highlights
of the credit have recently been posted on the Georgia Film and
Video Office website
.
The new incentive also includes commercial and music video
production, animation, video game development, interactive
entertainment, and is in addition to the tax incentive already on
the books in Georgia, which provides for a point of sale exemption
on State sales and use tax.
TAX CREDIT MAKES GEORGIA # 1
Georgia's incentive is said to be one of the
most user friendly, and economically attractive across the
industy.
Given Georgia's extensive base
of infrastructure, this credit has succeeded in making Georgia
the top-rated production location by some of the major studios' most
respected tax officials.
Other states' incentives are often complex, restrictive, and
difficult to use. In contrast, Hollywood helped draft the
legislation for Georgia, its' simplicity and broad scope make a
clear case in favor of the Peach State. All things considered, the
proof for Georgia lies in the production budget's bottom line.
For more information on producing your next project in Georgia,
contact Riverwood
Studios Inc. or the Georgia
Film and Video office. Georgia offers diverse topography,
a strong production base of crew, equipment, facilities, great
weather, and easy access via Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Intl.
Airport. Most notably, Delta
Airlines and Air
Tran offer more than 20 daily direct flights from LAX to
Atlanta, and Delta even provides non-stop service from Burbank to
Atlanta.
In addition, Georgia uniquely offers Hollywood-caliber
post-production facilities through companies like Lab
601, Turner,
Crawford,
qualifying a significant, additional portion of each production's
budget for the tax credit. Also, travel and insurance costs, if
booked through Georgia agencies, or directly on Delta Airlines,
qualify for the credit.
About Riverwood Studios Inc.
Riverwood is Georiga's only independent design-built motion
picture studio, located
on 120 acres, just 25 miles south of Atlanta's airport.
Riverwood offers 4 soundstages, construction mill, production
offices, hair/ make-up / wardrobe facilities, etc. There are a
variety of on-site
shooting locations including a 5 acre and 3 acre shooting lake,
swamp, forests and fields, with easy access, and low ambient
sound.
There are over 150 hotels and 500 restaurants in a 15-20 mile
radius, as well as other production support
services in nearby Peachtree City, Newnan, and Griffin.
Riverwood is pleased to announce the addition of voicemail and
VOIP capabilities to its 120 line PBX phone system, 8,000 square
feet of additional production offices, and commencement of its
fiber- optic network campus buildout, with a fiber link to the major
telecommunications hotel in Atlanta.
Please use the link below to forward this email to someone you
know will find it to be of interest.
*Applies to series television with an annual budget in excess of
$20m, and to Georgia resident labor expense (defined as anyone who
resides in Georgia for more than half of one
year).
