Talent Coalition Calls Proposed US Production Tax Credit an "Urgent First Step"
The American Entertainment Alliance has said it is in "strong support" of a proposed federal tax incentive for film and television production in the United States. The group calls the bill "an urgent first step toward bringing production jobs home."
The alliance, which Variety reported on 22 October, is a coalition that includes talent agencies CAA, WME and UTA, along with independent producers Blumhouse, Imagine Entertainment and MRC. Its members also include studios, post-production houses and suppliers such as equipment rental firms and stage operators. The coalition has been pushing for federal production incentives since at least mid-October, when the agencies first laid out the plan in reports from Variety and Deadline.
The proposal is built around a tax credit, meaning a reduction in the tax a company owes, tied to what it spends. It would give a 20% credit for domestic production, with a 5% bonus for independent productions. In the current bill language, an independent producer is any company that is not publicly traded. Deadline reported that the credit would be the first of its kind at federal level, and that it could be stacked on top of state and other incentives.
The alliance was clear that the credit is not the whole answer. It said more will need to be done beyond the tax incentive, adding that "a tax credit alone will not restore a competitive American marketplace." It plans to push for targeted changes that would make the bill work better for smaller companies, and to work with lawmakers and industry partners to strengthen it as it moves through Congress.
Behind the lobbying sits a set of numbers the alliance uses to make its case. It says the US television and film business has lost more than 100,000 jobs since its late-2022 peak, a fall of nearly 35%. It cites reporting from IATSE, the union for behind-the-camera crew, which found that total hours worked by below-the-line crew, meaning electricians, carpenters, camera operators and other technical staff, dropped by 45 million hours a year compared with 2022.
The alliance also points to streaming services. It says streamers cut their US scripted commissions, meaning orders for original drama and comedy, by 41% between 2022 and 2025. It says the US still accounts for 34% of global film production and 42% of global television production, a lead it argues is at risk.
What sits under all this is simple. A production that films in one country and not another means a set has to be built somewhere, and a crew has to be hired. The alliance wants more of that work to stay at home. Whether the bill gets that far depends on the legislative process, which is only just starting.
