Sep 15, 2011
Posted by Mike in Legal Stuff,Small Biz,Video Production
0 Comments
In Defense of Snooki. Seriously.
In case you live in New Jersey, and haven’t heard: The production company that produces MTV’s Jersey Shore has received a tax credit of $420,000 from the Economic Development Authority (EDA) for their 2009 season today. People are up in arms, and there are already calls for the Governor to veto the credit.
Now, I’m no fan of the show; in fact I think I only suffered through about half an episode before I wanted to throw my remote through the screen, but (and I can’t believe I’m defending Snooki and her cohorts) I’m all in favor of the tax credit for the production company. Hear me out:
- The $$ NJ Gets – The tax credit program provides up to a 20% credit on sales taxes for items and services bought in the state, provided that at least 60% of the production is done in New Jersey. That means in order to qualify for the credit, the production company had to have spent enough to generate at least $2,100,000 on sales taxes in 2009. ($420,000 * 5 = $2,100,000). Since NJ Sales tax is 7%, the Jersey Shore production company spent at least $30,000,000 on taxable goods and services in the State of NJ in 2009. $30,000,000. Seriously. (Since I don’t have access to actual figures, I can only use what’s been reported)
- The Jobs NJ Gets – Again, the tax credit program requires that at least 60% of the production be done in the State of New Jersey, which means that at least 60% of the camera operators, food suppliers, electricians, lawyers, editors, security personnel, production assistants, and everyone else listed in the show credits had to come from NJ. That means jobs, and each of those people had to pay payroll taxes, road tolls, and every other tax in this state. More money for NJ’s coffers.
- More Jobs and $$ NJ Gets – With the number of people involved in any large TV production, the “trickle down” (I hate that phrase) of goods and services purchased by them is enormous. They buy gas to get to work, food, coffee (lots of coffee), and the odds and ends of daily life; all of which generate jobs for the local restaurants, gas stations, and other small businesses that they shopped in. Many of these sales generated tax revenue in themselves.
All that being said, I completely agree with the Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition, in that the show is a terrible piece of ^&%#*% that disparages Italian-Americans and brings shame to the State of New Jersey. Should the show be airing? In my opinion, no. Should the Governor decide that, again, no.
When the current resident of Drumthwacket came into office, he summarily dismissed the film tax credit program, despite it’s positive affects on the NJ economy. This short-sighted move on the Governor’s part resulted in major productions like Law & Order SVU moving their production across the Hudson to NYC.
You could use the same arguments about Law & Order SVU portraying horrific crimes as a reason to not give them tax credits, as the folks who oppose the Jersey Shore credit are using, but the fact is that losing Law & Order SVU to New York, meant losing an awful lot of tax revenue and small business patronage to New Jersey businesses.
According to this article from December 2010:
The TV and film industry can mean a lot of money to New Jersey, according to proponents of the bill. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) says there were nearly 7,000 production-related jobs in New Jersey in 2008, which paid a total of $511 million in wages.
With NJ’s unemployment rate hovering around 9.5%, and the NJ Film & Video industry suffering because of it, the Governor and Economic Development Authority should be INCREASING the amount of tax credits available, and broadening the definition of what kind of production they are available to in my opinion.
Under the EDA Film Tax Credit program regulations (PDF link), none of the productions Brunswick Media Services LLC produces is eligible. This is despite 100% of the production in most cases being done in the State of New Jersey. Training videos, promotional videos, or other “small” projects like those we produce for our clients are just not eligible. You know, videos that companies use to train their new employees on safety issues, or standards of Good Manufacturing Practices. It’s just the feature film/TV industries that qualify under the old program.
If the State of New Jersey was really interested in helping to boost an industry that brings economic development to the state, they should reinstate the Film Tax Credit program with a much broader scope. NJ officials need only take a look at the effects of a forward thinking Film Tax Credit program in States like New Mexico to see the positive growth possible. (NM happens to be the production home of the show Breaking Bad, which portrays the production and use of Crystal Meth, drug dealing, etc. hardly family-fare).
In the same round of funding announcement, UK-Based Pearson PLC received $82 Million to move from Upper Saddle River, NJ to Hoboken, NJ. Actually, it’s $66 million, but it jumps to $82 million if they create 200 new jobs. That’s $410,000 per job. Seriously. $410,000 per job to move to a place that makes it easier for New Yorkers to get to. For a non-US company. To move from one town in NJ to another. Seriously. Where’s the outrage?
Also in this round of funding, Event Services Inc., received a tax credit of $400,000 for producing 2 wrestling events in NJ. Seriously.
It’s about economic effect, not content. As I said above, I’m no fan of Jersey Shore, and I wish it was never on the air, but if you’re going to start legislating the content of films and TV shows, what’s next?
The Jersey Shore logo is copyright MTV Networks, and is used for illustrative purposes only. Use does not imply endorsement by or of MTV Networks.
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