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Resolution encouraging Governor Corbett and the State Legislature to Continue Film Industry Tax Incentives in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, the state film tax credit, enacted by Act 55 on July 25, 2007, has brought 300 million dollars of consumer industry to western Pennsylvania over the last four years, according to the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees; and
WHEREAS, the tax credit has helped entice the production of feature films such as The Next Three Days, Love and Other Drugs, The Shelter, I Am Number Four, and She's Out of My League to the City of Pittsburgh, which provides positive exposure of our city, and brings jobs and dollars; and
WHEREAS, a report from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee in the Pennsylvania General Assembly indicates that the film tax credit created 4,000 jobs and produced $4.5 million of pure income in the greater Pittsburgh area between 2007 and 2008; and
WHEREAS, there is a strong filmmaking industry and infrastructure already in place in the Pittsburgh area, including many eager and active union workers; and
WHEREAS, the presence of feature film productions in the City of Pittsburgh both attracts new students and provides opportunities to current students; and
WHEREAS, the filmmaking industry in Pennsylvania - heavily concentrated in western Pennsylvania - provides capital for the Commonwealth through income and sales tax revenue; and
WHEREAS, according the Budget and Finance Committee, the elimination of the tax credit would cause over 2,000 employees to lose their jobs, forcing the state to pay upwards of 30 million dollars in unemployment benefits; and
WHEREAS, eliminating the film industry tax credit does absolutely nothing to "save the Commonwealth money";
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that, to help ensure t...
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