Oregon Expands Tax Credits for Filming
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed a bill that boosts the annual cap on the state’s film and video tax credit, currently at $10 million.
The cap will increase to $12 million in 2016 and $14 million in 2017. The goal is to promote the state’s film and television industry by further increasing capacity to attract and retain projects in the state.
Film and television producers have to spend at least $1 million in Oregon to qualify for the credit. The industry brings as much as $160 million to the state per year and is home to TV series “Portlandia” (pictured above), “Grimm” and “The Librarians.”
Brown signed the bill at the Laika studios in Hillsboro.
“Last year 20 of the 23 projects that benefited from this fund were produced by either local Oregon companies or local Oregon producers,” she said. “The program generates over $160 million of spending a year and more than 3,000 jobs. With the signing of this bill I expect the number of local productions will grow even more.”
Brown said that a new initiative of the Oregon Production Investment Fund encourages existing Portland-based productions like “Portlandia,” “Grimm” and “The Librarians” to shoot at least a few days of their schedule outside of Portland.
Stop-motion specialist Laika is not among the recipients of the funds.
“Laika has proven that a love for storytelling and sense of duty to creatively advance their industry can make a great business model,” Brown said. “It’s an often-used phrase but still appropriate, they are turning dreams into reality.”
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