March 21, 2022

Justice Signs $4.6 Billion West Virginia Budget, Appropriations Bills

(kpvi.com)

 

(The Center Square) – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a $4.635 billion budget bill with one line-item veto, along with several supplemental appropriations bills passed by the General Assembly.

The budget includes a 5% pay raise for teachers and other state employees. The budget also provides additional funding for West Virginia University and reinstates a film tax subsidy, which had previously been suspended. The film tax subsidy will receive $10 million in funding, which is double what the fund had in previous years.

About 44% of the budget will be spent on public education, 26% will be spent on social services and 10% will go to higher education.

Justice vetoed a line of the budget that would have transferred $265 million worth of surplus funding to the Department of Revenue for the general revenue fund. The governor said in a letter explaining his veto there is no reason to set aside surplus revenue to an agency without any general law purpose. He said the general revenue fund does not need the additional money because the legislature never passed the proposed income tax reduction.

“As a good steward of taxpayer dollars, I want to be as transparent as possible when it comes to how we are spending the taxpayers’ money, let alone the surpluses we have been blessed with by making the right, thoughtful moves,” Justice said.

Garrett Ballengee, the executive director of the free-market Cardinal Institute told The Center Square the budget is responsible, but it should have also included tax relief.

“For the last half decade, West Virginia has passed fiscally responsible budgets, and this most recent budget, luckily, continues that trend,” Ballengee said. “That said, West Virginia continues to pile up budget surpluses for [a] wide variety of reasons, so I am hoping that substantive discussions will be had on how best to use the surplus money, particularly through “pay-down” mechanisms for reductions in the income tax. It’s important to remember that every dollar sloshing around in the state budget is a dollar not in someone’s wallet, and while surpluses are nice, they should be used to prompt serious discussions on reducing the burden of taxation.”

The House of Delegates passed legislation that would have reduced income taxes by 10% for every income bracket and offset some of the costs with the state’s surplus funding. However, the legislation never passed the Senate and was not included in the final budget.

This is the second straight year that state lawmakers have tried to pass legislation to reduce the income tax burden on residents. Last year, the governor and both chambers introduced bills that would have reduced or eliminated the income tax, but the three sides failed to reach an agreement.

By: Tyler Arnold

Continue Reading at kpvi.com

Canada, Georgia Benefit Most From California Runaway Productions

(hollywoodreporter.com)

 

Roughly half of the projects that applied for but didn’t receive tax credits to shoot in California from 2015 to 2020 chose to film elsewhere, costing the state $7.7 billion in economic activity, 28,000 jobs and over $350 million in state and local taxes.

According to a new study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association, a trade body for the major studios, runaway productions generated over $3 billion in spending in areas the projects went to. The most popular destinations were Canada, Georgia, and New Mexico.

“If these productions had stayed in the state, California would have reaped the economic benefits,” reads the report conducted by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC).

The findings are meant to boost support for film and TV tax credits given out by California. Under the program, the state provides productions $330 million annually by allowing filmmakers to get back 20 to 25 percent of their spending on qualified expenditures, such as paying crew and constructions costs. It does not include salaries for actors, licensing fees and distribution expenses.

In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill (SB144) adding another $330 million in tax credits to the program, which is set to expire in 2025, to incentivize shooting in the state amid concerns that California was losing its foothold as the country’s major film hub. Another bill expected to be signed by Newsom will extend the credits through 2030.

“The success of this program is not only the jobs created and retained, but the economic engine it provides to other businesses throughout the region and the state,” said Dee Dee Myers, director of the Office of Business and Economic Development, in a statement. “This LAEDC Report reveals how much that means to California’s economy – and why we’re so committed to this critical industry here in our state.”

The program contributed from 2015 to 2020 $22 billion in economic output and 110,300 jobs, the study estimated. This increase in economic activity returned to state and local governments roughly $962 million in tax revenue.

The study evaluated 169 productions that were given tax breaks. These projects were given $915 million in credits and generated $7.4 billion in direct spending.

The report also followed 157 projects that were denied tax credits to shoot in California. The study’s authors said that about half of the productions that weren’t selected ended up leaving the state altogether for another jurisdiction.

By: Winston Cho

Continue Reading at hollywoodreporter.com