Posted: 07/31/2012 11:05:41 PM PDT
Fearful that Los Angeles will lose more television pilots to New York, the City Council on Wednesday called for studies on how to reduce or eliminate city taxes on film and TV production.
"We have been working for the last decade to make sure we keep productions in Los Angeles," said Councilman Eric Garcetti, who chairs the council's Jobs and Business Development Committee.
"We have seen the blockbuster films leave Los Angeles ... but now we are seeing a loss of television production."
Under the proposal, the city would look at eliminating taxes on all pilot productions - the number of which has dropped significantly.
"We've seen a major decline in all filming production," said Paul Audley, president of Film LA. "But we are down to 42 percent of all pilots for television. It is not only frightening, it is abysmal.
"And we hear the mayor of New York saying it will be the entertainment capital in a decade. Unfortunately, it is bearing out."
Audley said the Garcetti proposal is important because it is more likely for a show that shoots its pilot in Los Angeles to stay in the city if it is picked up.
Councilman Joe Buscaino
said the city needs to make sure it keeps production local.
"New York says it wants to be the entertainment capital of the world," Buscaino said. "Not going to happen."
Councilman Richard Alarcón said part of the problem is persuading Northern California legislators that the tax breaks are important."They have a tough time understanding that the incentives bring back more money than they cost," Alarcón said. "They should look at us, mostly liberal Democrats, who support these motions."
Audley agreed, adding his group has conducted studies that show the state earns more in new revenue than the cost of the tax incentives.
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