James March-April 2024 online - Flipbook - Page 82
First let me say, I am not trying to
debate or challenge Bradbury’s findings. I’m merely noting the basis for
one side of this issue.
One of the key findings is that the
economic multiplier used to extrapolate the extended impact of the
film industry “direct spend” in Georgia may have been overstated. The
economic multiplier is essentially the
magnitude of impact to the economy
by infusion or removal of capital, or
how much does the film industry’s
“direct spend” bolster Georgia’s
economy through the ripple affects of
creating additional jobs not directly in
the film industry.
If the multiplier used by the
Georgia Department of Economic
Development (which oversees the tax
credit program) is overstated, it falsely
overstates the impact of the industry
on our state economy. This is a key
question for the experts to delve into
more deeply and I strongly encourage
everyone involved in this important
legislative debate to do so.
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JAMES
M ARCH/ A PR I L 2024
In contrast to Hufstetler’s argument to reduce or cap the tax incentive, a new study by Olsberg SPI for
the Georgia Screen Entertainment
Coalition presents a different perspective. Without going into the depth of
their research, they find the impact of
every $1.00 of tax incentive generates
$6.30 of economic impact in Georgia.
This study includes “direct impact,
indirect impact and induced impact” as
the three categories of economic drivers delivered by Georgia’s film industry.
The SPI report incorporates “spend”
on a broader range such as studio
construction as part of their economic
impact measure— which obviously is a
very real boost to the economy.
Their broader analysis presents
a much more positive story of the impact of the film tax credit and, again,
I’m not debating the validity of either
side of the debate. I’m just encouraging our state’s leadership to carefully
examine both sides.
The film industry is very “gypsy-like” and it will migrate to where
the best incentives are. I can attest
to this having an affiliation with a
production company that looked at
four or five global markets and several
states until finally settling on Georgia
as the best overall offering, based on
economic stimulus and infrastructure.
If the incentives weren’t there, Georgia
would not even be competitive in the
selection process.
Hollywood is very sensitive to Georgia’s incentive package and any proposed changes. The one thing that we
know from experience in other states
is that if the industry incentives go
away, the industry will go to wherever
the incentives are. And there’s always
someone trying to lure them away.
Bottom line: A strong economic
offering, robust infrastructure and a
growing pool of skilled labor and talent will provide the basis for the film
industry to stay in Georgia and continue to grow.
Atlantan Courtney Bennett is the executive
producer at Pine Lake Studios, LLC
