Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

TALES FROM THE STEEL CITY

July 12, 2007

It looks like tough times to be a taxpayer in Pittsburgh. Unless you want to make a movie.

The Tax Policy Blog reports:

If you live near Pittsburgh and enjoy a drink, it appears you may be on the hit list as the County Council of Allegheny County, the home of Pittsburgh, may soon have the power to impose an extra 10 percent tax on alcoholic beverages that are served in the county.

It's enough to drive a man to drive to drink - at least to the next county. Meanwhile, Tax Grrrl reports that Pennsylvania is leaping at the chance to throw taxpayer money at moviemakers, just like Iowa:

I don’t know all of the details yet - but I do know that the package included $75 million in tax credits for producers making movies, television shows and commercials. The budget for the projects has to be at least $2 million and at least 60% of the budget must be earmarked to be spent in Pennsylvania.

Strangely, Tax Grrrl thinks it's a good thing to tax everybody else in Pennsylvania to support a specific industry. She justifies the subsidy with the standard corporate welfare handout pleading and veiled threat:

States like Pennsylvania have been searching for incentives to offer producers to compete with Canadian provinces who have been luring movie makers with promises of lower costs and taxes.

Every industry can say that. The standard movie incentive involves refundable or tranferable credits, which really means cash subsidies. There's no economic or moral justification for taxing everybody to subsidize one industry, but star-struck politicians everywhere (with one notable exception) are willing to give away their constituents' cash for the chance to meet a movie star.

Link: Tax Update coverage of Iowa Film Credits

      Bookmark: del.icio.us • Digg • reddit