WEIPA - Lame Acronym, Good Cause
Washington has, for the last 15 or so years, been losing tons of potential motion picture business. Sure, we get the occasional Mad Love, Assassins, or Twin Peaks, but filmmakers find shooting in the Great White North much more affordable. MovieMaker magazine regularly lists cities which are friendly to filmmakers. Seattle often appears on the list, but cities such as New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Austin and Portland are perrenial favorites. These cities offer tax incentives to production companies enabling the filmmakers to more affordably make their films on location.
Our state constitution, however, forbids favoring one type of business over another, making the tax incentive program a moot subject. Luckily, local entertainment industry workers, headed by Dan Jensen of AlphaCine Laboratories, have put together two bills which would circumvent the archaic verbiage of the constitution. Senate Bill 6558 reduces the business and occupation tax for production crews, and House Bill 2818 would provide incentives based on the amount that company spent, not to exceed $1 million. Both bills are remarkably small steps which would be simple to implement, and each would give the state the ability to offer services and incentives that many other states and cities already offer.
Film crews are not going to be lining up at our door, ready to besmirch our serene landscapes. We'll be lucky if we see a significant jump in the number of productions filming in Washington. The fact of the matter is, if we can offer any sort of incentive to the people who bring their business here, we will bolster local economies. It might even, in the long run, ignite Seattle's very own independent film community.
The bills passed on Tuesday with only minor adjustments to the wording and is now slated to go before Governor Gregoire who reportedly supports the bill.
For more information on what you can do to show your support, check the Washington Entertainment Industry Player's Associataion web site.
