Pennsylvania State Senator Wants to Reform Program That Funnels Taxpayer Money to Filmmakers

Pennsylvania state Senator Devlin Robinson (R-Bethel Park) this week proposed changing a program that subsidizes film production to the tune of $100 million annually. 

The Keystone State allots the film-production tax credit to movie and television projects on the basis that it generates net economic growth by bringing in new (if temporary) jobs and boosting local businesses. Robinson is circulating a memorandum among Senate colleagues suggesting the program could benefit from an increased focus on multi-year projects to make the job gains attributable to the program more stable.  

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Pennsylvania Senate Proposal Would Spread Film Subsidy Beyond Cities

A lawmaker this week proposed reforming Pennsylvania’s $100 million film-production tax-credit program, a policy he said he believes doesn’t benefit enough independent, non-urban projects.

State Senator David Argall (R-Mahanoy City) sent a memorandum to colleagues in which he ascribed $5 billion in recent economic activity to the program. He said that the subsidy is falling overwhelmingly into the hands of filmmakers basing their projects in and around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 

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