Income taxes: tax credits: motion picture credit: extension: diversity workplan.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a motion picture credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2020, and before July 1, 2025, in an amount equal to 20% or 25% of qualified expenditures for the production of a qualified motion picture in this state, with additional credit amounts allowed, including for amounts equal to specified qualified expenditures and qualified wages relating to original photography outside the Los Angeles zone, as specified. Existing law limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated to specified amounts per fiscal year, and sets forth allocation percentages for various productions under the motion picture credit. This bill, for credit allocations made on or after July 1, 2023, would revise the definition of qualified motion picture for purposes of the credit to require an applicant to provide a diversity workplan that includes goals that are broadly reflective of California's population, as specified, and would require the commission to approve or reject each diversity workplan, to the extent allowed by federal and state law. The bill would prohibit the commission from certifying the tax credit for an applicant required to provide a diversity workplan until the commission receives the applicant's final diversity report, and would authorize the commission to increase the applicant's credit percentage if the commission determines that the applicant has met or made a good faith effort to meet the diversity goals in its diversity workplan. This bill, if legislation relating to the 2023 Budget Act and making changes to the application criteria for the motion picture credit is enacted, would extend the period during which the commission allocates the above-described motion picture credits through July 1, 2030. The bill would also extend the application of the limit on the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated through the 2029–30 fiscal year and would make conforming changes. Existing law also allows a credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2032, in an amount equal to 20% or 25%, or as modified, of qualified expenditures paid or incurred during the taxable year by a qualified motion picture produced in this state at a certified studio construction project. This bill would instead allow the credit for qualified expenditures paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer in all taxable years during the production of a qualified motion picture produced in this state at a certified studio construction project. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would provide findings to comply with the additional information requirement for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2/3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.