Income taxes: credit: motion pictures.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, in an amount equal to an applicable percentage of either 20% or 25%, respectively, of the qualified expenditures, as defined, attributable to the production in California of a qualified motion picture, as defined. Existing law imposes specified duties on the California Film Commission related to the administration of the credits, including a requirement to allocate the tax credits until July 1, 2017, and limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to qualified motion pictures in any fiscal year to $100,000,000 through the 2016–17 fiscal year. This bill would establish new, alternative credits under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, allowing a credit equal to 20% of the qualified expenditures attributable to the production in California of one or more qualified motion pictures, defined to include a feature, television series, music video, commercial, and video game, with a aggregate qualified expenditure amount of at least $500,000. The bill would provide that the credit amount may be increased by an additional 10% if each qualified motion picture, for which qualified expenditures are aggregated for the claim of credit, includes a California promotion, as specified. The bill would further provide that the credit amount may be increased by up to an additional 5% if each qualified motion picture, for which qualified expenditures are aggregated for the claim of credit, incurred or paid the qualified expenditures relating to original photography outside of a major city zone, as defined. The bill would authorize any credit allowed pursuant to these provisions to be sold to an unrelated party subject to specified requirements. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.