Indie Filmmakers Get Bailout Break

Great news for Indie Filmmakers! Somehow Section 181 of the Jobs Creation Act ended up as part of the Bailout Bill! According to Variety: "Tax incentive legislation aiding Hollywood was tucked into the mammoth $700 billion bailout plan signed into law Friday by President Bush. The legislation, originally enacted in 2004 in an effort to stem runaway production, extends and expands an existing federal domestic production tax credit that had been set to expire at the end of this year. The credit was also modified to allow the incentive to be applied as an immediate deduction of the first $15 million spent on any film or TV program produced in the United States. Previously, the incentive was only available to productions with a total cost of under $15 million. The modification is retroactive to January. The legislation also increases the single-year deduction in production costs, from $15 million to $20 million, that film and TV productions may take if the costs are incurred in designated economically depressed areas. The incentive was extended through December 2009." Read full story here.