Trump Says Federal Film Tax Credit Is Gaining Momentum

After a sweeping loss at the midterms for Republicans dimmed the short-term prospects of a federal film and TV tax credit, President Trump is pushing for passage of legislation for production subsidies.

Trump on Friday said he’s working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on the legislation.

“The support and popularity of doing this, and bringing Entertainment back to the United States of America, has been unbelievable!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced proposed legislation to establish a federal film and TV tax credit, aimed at reshoring production to the U.S. amid a tit-for-tat battle among countries to host Hollywood.

If passed, the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act would establish a 20 percent base tax credit on labor expenses, rising to a maximum of 30 percent with bonuses. Only projects with a budget over $1 million, where 75 percent of filming occurs in the U.S., would be eligible for the credit. The subsidy would be stackable on top of individual tax incentives from states, much like the system in several countries that’ve lured production away from the U.S. in recent years.

In Friday’s post, Trump said that the entertainment industry has “largely moved to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries.”

“The actors, producers, and all others involved want to come back home!” Trump added. “Importantly, hundreds of thousands of Blue Collar Workers will be positively affected, BIG TIME, by the passage of this Bill.”

The post follows Democrats preparing investigations into the Trump administration, raising questions about whether they will focus on film subsidies during the lame-duck session. The tax credit would cost billions of dollars, money that Democrats may be hesitant to attach to a short-term bill during the year-end budget fight.

Still, Trump stressed that Democrats are open to the legislation since “much of the money being lost to other countries is coming out of the Blue States.”

“The amount of money spent on these Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers,” he added. “Meetings are being set up, routinely, with the Leaders of both Parties in order to, GET THIS DONE!”