Help us advocate for the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit

Posted on April 25, 2019

As we continue to advocate for the expansion of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit, we still need your help in encouraging our State lawmakers to pass this important legislation.  The current legislation offers a tax incentive for movies, television, web series and gaming and we would like to add touring Broadway productions that: are pre-Broadway engagements; launching national tours or run for a minimum of 5 weeks

Currently, we are about to lose $250 million in production to other states if this does not pass. We have already lost over $1 billion dollars in business due to our small incentive. This activity would have a significant impact on our economy, and part of our mission is to positively impact our region’s economy.  SB37 will boost the entire State of Ohio.

Please continue to express your encouragement in one of the ways listed below:
  • Copy and paste the letter below into your email and send to the appropriate recipient:
  • Copy and paste the letter below onto your company or personal letterhead and mail to the appropriate recipient.
  • Call the Governor, Speaker of the Ohio House and President of the Ohio Senate to express your support using the letter below as a guide for your conversation.
    • Governor DeWine – 614-644-4357
    • Representative Householder – 614-466-2500
    • Senator Obhof – 614-466-7505
  • Share these social media posts to Facebook and Twitter, and encourage others to show their support.

For questions, please contact GCFC President & CEO Ivan Schwarz at 216-623-3910 or [email protected]

You can use this letter as a template:

 

The Honorable Mike DeWine
Governor of Ohio                                              
Riffle Center, 30thFloor                                                 
77 South High Street                                                                 
Columbus, Ohio 43215                                                  

Dear Governor DeWine:

I write to you as a supporter of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, the only nonprofit dedicated to bringing jobs and economic development to Northeast Ohio through the growth of a sustainable, year-round media production industry. It is vital that the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit be increased to an annual cap of $100 million so our state can take advantage of the hundreds of millions of dollars in production spending and tens of thousands of jobs that are quite literally ours for the taking.

When the credit renewed last summer, it took barely a month to hit the $40 million cap. Filmmakers want to film here and put Northeast Ohioans to work, but instead take their business to states like Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Georgia due to their more available, more robust incentive programs.

In 2008, Georgia passed a motion picture tax incentive that transformed their economy to the tune of $9.5 billion of economic impact in 2017 alone, and to the point where they are arguably the media-production capital of the world. New Mexico has seen similar success with their incentive. Netflix recently bought Albuquerque Studios and plans to invest over $1 billion in the state by driving production there.

The success Ohio has seen, even with the current limitations of the credit, is real and demonstrable. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) recently reported that nearly 35,500 people are directly and indirectly (hotels, caterers, carpenters, dry cleaners, etc.) employed by the motion picture and television industries in Ohio, with total wages earned exceeding $1.2 billion.

The full potential of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit has yet to be fully realized. Georgia has signaled to Hollywood that they are open for business and that no production will be turned away for lack of state funds or infrastructure. Raising Ohio’s incentive cap to $100 million will tell the world that we can sustain a year-round production industry, allowing stakeholders (who are ready and willing) to invest in production infrastructure like studios and soundstages that will ensure that we can compete for the biggest productions available (including television series) and employ an even greater number of Ohioans.

This is a successful program that is already putting billions into the pockets of Northeast Ohioans right now, and it could be doing so much more. I ask you to please raise the annual cap on the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit to $100 million, so that we can become the global production destination Hollywood already knows we can be.

Sincerely,