Maine is poised to become competitive with other New England states when it comes to the film industry shooting major motion pictures on location. But the legislature needs to pass a bill offering incentives to the filmmakers.
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7 comments:
This is one of the issues I will work toward, if elected, Ray.
Henry,
Sounds like you will be busy
Did the Empire falls crew get a tax incentive or break to film in Skowhegan. Or did the choice of film location rest on its own merits?
Bruce
Bruce, I don't know,it seems doubtful. Who knows how those Hollywood types choose anything? I would simply like Maine's tax structure to encourage more filming here.
The issue here is simply this. With all other factors being equal, Maine is not competitive regionally or nationally when it comes to the film industry.
We passed incentives in 2006 that were woefully inadequate, but that is typical .... another half-baked solution from people who simply are incapable of solving problems.
Empire Falls made a decision to film in Maine based on many factors and did not allow the "financial end" to dictate the decision. That decision is usually left up to the people who finance movies.
There is a lot of "talk" about making Maine competitive but very little action when it comes to real solutions.
The Massachusetts film industry is booming because they got aggressive and decided to compete with Connecticut, a state that was using its location, being near to NYC, as a real draw for filming.
The question boils down to this.
Does Maine want a vibrant film industry?
IF the answer is "YES" then we must do what is necessary to be competitive.
IF the answer is "NO" then we just need to stand pat and continue the result we have.
Empire Falls was filmed over four years ago.
There has not been a significant production since.
I think that tells the real story.
Let's hear it for Massachusetts,
This in todays New York Times
"Massachusetts is experiencing the worst deficit in its history this year. The total deficit is about $1.2 billion, and to comply with the state's balanced-budget law, legislators are making deep cuts in spending and are talking about raising taxes"
The article was about how it is affecting the Hispanic population down there in Mass.
Sounds like they are thriving.
The real issue is why should states have to compete with each other with tax incentives.
I think businesses should not be able to make their decisions based on what tax breaks they are going to get from states and communities. It should be based on the quality of the workforce and other factors that would contribute to the business success, not corporate welfare.
Mea Culpa,
That article was a reprint from 1989 Times. Go for it beat me up.
I still do not want to be like Mass.
I stand behind my statements about tax breaks for businesses
Cabela
I see they are opening their store.
Wasn't it just a short while ago that they were blackmailing us into thinking they would not build in maine unless they got a sales tax concession on out of state sales, ie web orders?
I guess they decided we were worth coming to anyway.
Ray ,states don't have to prostitute themselves to get jobs.
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