Governor Nathan Deal signed two bills expanding tax credits offered to Georgia’s film and gaming industries. House Bill 199 will provide a 20 percent tax credit for post-production companies – which perform services such as editing — with at least a $250,000 payroll in Georgia. The companies must also spend at least $500,000 per tax year. While the state has offered generous tax credits to the film industry since 2008, the post-production portion of the business has been excluded until now. The new credit will be capped at $5 million next year, $10 million in 2019 and $15 million from 2020 through 2022. No single company can get more than 20 percent of the total statewide credit available in a given year.
Video gaming companies will have an easier time qualifying for tax credits as well. It reduces the total Georgia payroll requirement to qualify for a credit from $500,000 to $250,000 if the gaming company makes a base investment of at least $200,000 during a two-year period.
Deal also signed House Bill 265, which would exempt from sales and local sales taxes building materials used for renovating or expanding performing arts venues under certain conditions. It is designed to help with the renovation of the Alliance Theater at the Woodruff Art Center.
The tax credit expansion will save the businesses and cost the state about $82.5 million over the next five years, according to an analysis by the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute.
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