Adam Schiff

10/31/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2024 10:29

Schiff Calls on Federal Agencies to Track Film Industry Employment Trends and Economic Impact of Global Tax Incentives

October 31, 2024

Washington, D.C.- Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee, requested detailed data on film and television production employment trends and the impact of foreign production incentives from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Schiff's letter aims to help better understand how international tax incentives and globalization are affecting the U.S. film and television production industry, particularly its ability to keep jobs and productions within the United States.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) both provide critical economic data that bolster the United States' standing in the global economy. Specifically, both departments' employment data in the screen production industry could illuminate what my constituents in Hollywood and across California have experienced firsthand: employment in film and television production has grown abroad over the past several decades, threatening job growth at home as more foreign countries provide meaningful production incentives," Schiff wrote in the letter.

"This is not a new problem, as shown by a report issued jointly by the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America showing that the total economic impact of foreign incentive-based film and television production was $10.3 billion in 1998, up more than fivefold since the beginning of the decade. In order for the U.S. to maintain its standing as a leader in the film and television production industry and spur more American jobs, we must create competitive labor-based incentives for U.S. production," Schiff continued.

"To better assess U.S. film production employment trends and the impact of competitive production subsidies offered in other countries and at the state level, I am requesting additional statistical data from BLS and BEA that may provide insight into the effect that tax incentives and globalization have had on film production in the United States over the past several decades," Schiff concluded.

During his time in the California State Senate, Schiff helped lead efforts to increase local film production in California and protect local jobs. Schiff has spearheaded efforts in Congress to extend California's film tax credit, including in 2014 when he led 28 members of the California Democratic Delegation in urging the leaders of the California State Senate and Assembly to reauthorize and enhance the tax credit.

Read the full letter here.

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