Modifies certain requirements of film and digital media content production tax credit program; modifies criteria for purchase of certain tax credit transfer certificates administered by Division of Taxation.
What changed between versions
Removed the 'feature film' limitation from the $125M+ studio partner tier, so the additional credit (up to $72M for writers, directors, producers, and performers) now applies to any type of film production, not just feature films.
Added fund-owned entities to the definition of New Jersey film-lease production company: a company may now include 'any other entity in which a fund has a material ownership interest if the film-lease production company is materially owned by the fund.'
Added a requirement that leases of New Jersey film-lease partner facilities must include at least 36,000 square feet of gross rentable space, in addition to the existing three-year minimum term. This applies to both the revocation trigger and the lease requirements for film-lease production companies.
Expanded recapture protections: the authority can now only 'recapture or reduce the portion of' tax credits available solely by virtue of a designation, and explicitly cannot touch credits awarded for any film production for which an initial application was already submitted and deemed complete. This applies to studio partners, film-lease production companies, and film-lease post-production companies.
Changed the revocation trigger for film-lease partner facilities from 'five or more successive years' to 'at least five years,' removing the 'successive' requirement and making it easier for the authority to revoke a designation after a facility fails to operate properly.
Added a cross-reference stating that a three-year lease described in the definition of New Jersey film-lease production company automatically satisfies the three-year lease requirement in the definition of New Jersey film-lease post-production company.
Added 'insurance premiums' to the list of items included in the total qualified film production expenses when calculating the 7.5 percent cap on out-of-state producer fees, rights fees, and related costs for studio partners and film-lease production companies.
Deleted the provision stating that script costs for studio partners and film-lease production companies 'shall be in addition to the amounts paid to highly compensated individuals and the additional amounts paid to highly compensated individuals,' removing a clarification about how script costs interact with the highly compensated individual cap.