| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Speaker Hastert backs TV, movie production tax breaks
Wednesday June 18, 2003WASHINGTON (AP) Legislation in Congress designed to keep TV and movie production in Los Angeles and other American cities has picked up an influential ally in Speaker J. Dennis Hastert.
The legislation, introduced in February by two California lawmakers, calls for tax credits to be offered as an incentive to small and independent productions that receive generous tax breaks in Canada and elsewhere.
The issue hit home for Hastert, R-Ill., with the filming of the movie ``Chicago'' in Toronto, said his spokesman, John Feehery.
``Films about Chicago should be filmed in Chicago,'' Feehery said.
The bill by Reps. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, and Howard Berman, D-North Hollywood, would offer a wage tax credit to each employee on productions with payrolls under $10 million. The credit would apply to wages up to $25,000. Caterers and other small business associated with film productions also would qualify.
So-called runaway production cost the U.S. economy $10 billion in the 1990s, according to a 1999 study prepared for actors' and directors' unions.
Berman and Dreier have estimated their bill's cost at $200 million to $400 million annually in lost tax revenues. Other estimates have ranged as high as $1 billion a year.
The speaker's support for legislation generally lends significant momentum. No timetable has been set for the bills consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles tax legislation.
The bill is H.R. 715.
^ =
On the Net: Text of H.R. 715 at http://thomas.loc.gov
(