More tax breaks could be coming to the Los Angeles entertainment industry

California Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed a new plan Sunday that aims to revitalize the state’s movie industry.

His new proposal will expand California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program from $330 to $750 million which he argues will promote production in the Golden State. The plan is set to be debated by the state legislature for the 2025-2026 budget.

The new initiative is intended to keep entertainment industry jobs within California, and combat the increasing incentives being offered by other states.

Newsom was at Raleigh Studios in LA this weekend where he held a press conference announcing the new proposal.

He was joined by industry professionals including Brigitta Romanov, the executive director of the Costume Designer’s Guild.

“Sadly, film and television workers who once flourished in this industry now face a dire situation,” Romanov said. “California struggles to compete for production work. Because so many of us live here, the impact is larger than anywhere else in the world.”

Millicent Shelton, vice president of the Director’s Guild of America, shared her perspective of the entertainment industry’s issues at the press conference.

“Many directors are being forced to leave California, and often the country for work … the hard choice between work and home is psychologically painful and damaging to marriages, families and communities,” Shelton said. “I know because I traveled the entire 16 years of my twins’ lives.”

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass also was present to show her support for Newsom’s plan, and spoke about the evolving state of the film industry.

“When I was in the State Assembly in 2009, we saw the need to ensure that the entertainment industry thrived during those years. The industry was beginning to slip away and beginning to go to other states. But since then, many of those states have developed their own industries, and that has really impacted us,” Bass said.

Newsom spoke last and addressed the growing unease in the industry surrounding job losses.

“There’s been this trend line for years and years that predates the pandemic, predates some of the labor issues,” Newsom said. “That’s now a headline, a screaming headline. There’s not a week it seems, that goes by where someone is not presenting to me not just a text from Ben Allen, but a headline from one of the trades.”

The Governor drew cheers from the audience when mentioning the proposed tax breaks.

“We needed to make a statement, and we need to do something that was meaningful, not just intentional,” Newsom said.

He said that this is just the beginning of the process to get this initiative passed.

“This is a proposal, and we’re going to need all your help,” Newsom said. “We’re going to need your support. Support. We’ve got some remarkable legislative leaders here, but we’re going to need that support to get this over the line.”