Congress Is About to Write a Federal Film Tax Credit: Just Don’t Call It a Hollywood Bill
President Trump's recent call for Congress to pass a federal film and television tax credit, which he has proposed naming "The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act," has given fresh momentum to a long-standing Hollywood ambition. Although often framed as a favour to Los Angeles, the article argues the measure is really an economic lifeline for states such as Georgia and Louisiana, which built up substantial production industries but are now losing work to countries offering more generous incentives, at a time when the wider US film industry is already under pressure from post-streaming contraction and the rise of AI.
Georgia's film and TV spending has fallen from a peak of $4.4 billion in 2022 to $2 billion last fiscal year, a ten-year low, with productions dropping from 412 to 280, while Louisiana has seen output fall by roughly 65% over three years and lost 52.7% of its film jobs since 2021, the steepest decline nationally. The article attributes this partly to foreign incentives that US states cannot match alone, including the UK's 40% tax credit and Canada's stacked federal and provincial credits, which can exceed 50% in provinces such as British Columbia and Ontario. Around 80 countries now offer a national film tax credit, whereas the US currently has none, prompting productions and streamers like Netflix to increasingly film abroad.
In short
- Trump has proposed a federal film and TV tax credit bill.
- Georgia and Louisiana film industries have seen sharp declines in production.
- About 80 countries offer national film incentives; the US currently offers none.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A federal film tax credit could help US productions compete with countries offering larger incentives, keeping investment, jobs and related spending in states such as Georgia and Louisiana. Supporters could argue that a national scheme would complement state programmes, stabilise an industry facing contraction and AI disruption, and spread benefits beyond Hollywood.
The case against
Opponents could argue that tax credits redirect public money to an industry that should stand on its own, with no guarantee that subsidised productions will create lasting jobs or repay the cost through wider economic activity. They may also question why film merits federal support over other sectors, and warn that states and countries competing through incentives can end up bidding against one another at public expense.
Explained simply
Film and television productions can be made in different places, and governments often offer tax breaks to attract the work. The United States has state-level incentives but no national film tax credit, while countries such as the UK and Canada offer incentives that can make filming there cheaper.
Georgia and Louisiana have built sizeable production industries with their own state incentives, supporting jobs and businesses beyond film studios. Their production activity has fallen in recent years, as some projects move to countries with larger incentives and the US entertainment industry faces wider changes.
A federal credit would be available across the country and could affect where producers choose to film. Its effects would matter to workers and businesses in production centres, as well as to federal finances and the distribution of film work among states.
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