Written by Tom Deehan on May 31, 2016. Posted in Incentive News

Ohio Government increases film tax incentive fund

The Government of Ohio has approved a new proposal entitled House Bill 475 which will increase the amount of money allocated to the state’s film incentive programme from USD20 million to USD40 million. Alongside this change the bill will remove caps on the amount of money that can be claimed and require that all productions spend at least 5% of their budget on small local businesses. The programme will also shift to a transferable tax credit scheme.

The proposed changes are in response to the 2015 fund having been depleted before the end of the year and the USD54 million that has been brought in by the film industry to the Cincinnati region alone.

Steve Colwell of Film Hamilton explains: “anything’s going to help… I don’t think we really understand the amount of money we generate by a film. It’s like having a small business come in.”

Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Film Commission, Kristen Schlotman adds: “perhaps just as important in this bill is the creation of the job training program for resident film crew members… having a more robust local labour force will not only attract out-of-state investment to use in-state talent, but it will also encourage Ohio companies to produce their commercials and videos at home.”

Recent Ohio-based films to have spurred the new legislation include action/thriller Chain of Command and the upcoming indie-film Long Home (pictured) which stars James Franco and Josh Hutcherson.

By expanding the programme, Ohio will assert itself as a major location in the battle for film incentives currently being waged in the United States.