Lawmakers to Seek Tax Incentive Package to Bring Sony Pictures to Nevada
By Tabitha Muller, Sean Golonka | Published May 10, 2023
State lawmakers are planning to unveil a bill Thursday proposing a massive package of film production tax incentives intended to bring one of the nation’s largest entertainment companies, Sony Pictures, to Southern Nevada.
Sources told The Nevada Independent the tax incentives could total as much as $195 million a year for 20 years.
Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) during a meeting of the Senate Education committee on Feb. 20 in Carson City during the 82nd legislative session. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)
It would mark the largest proposed package of tax credits in state history and would pave the way for construction of a new Sony Pictures film studio in the Las Vegas area, while potentially granting the company the significant financial resources needed to fund productions over the next 20 years.
Sources familiar with the proposed measure said it would include project labor agreements for the construction of new facilities and that granting the tax incentives would likely be dependent on investments from the film companies in question.
The Senate Democratic Caucus announced Wednesday afternoon that Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) plans to introduce the legislation tomorrow. The release also states that backers of the bill include Sony Pictures, Newport Beach-based real estate company Birtcher Development and the Howard Hughes Corporation, the developer behind the Summerlin community in the Las Vegas Valley.
“I’m proud to sponsor the Film Tax Credit and Infrastructure Program to bring TV and movies to Nevada,” Lange said. “The film industry would create thousands of good-paying, union jobs in the process of bringing the Silver State to the silver screen. After two years of work on this bill, I am excited to introduce it tomorrow.”
Lange declined to comment on the legislation on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the announcement. Details of the financial incentives were confirmed separately by sources familiar with the deal.
The major tax deal and introduction of one of the country’s “Big Five” major film studios to Nevada would significantly expand the state’s market for television and motion picture productions — and provide the state with an opportunity to compete with the likes of Georgia and New Mexico, where Hollywood productions have grown away from traditional studio powerhouse California.
Sony Pictures is based in Culver City, California, and includes Columbia Pictures among its divisions.
Current Nevada law limits the state from providing more than $10 million in transferable tax credits for all film productions in a single year, and credits are capped at $6 million per production. The amount of credits issued for a production is primarily based on a percentage of wages and qualified production costs.
Article link: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lawmakers-to-seek-multibillion-dollar-tax-incentive-package-to-bring-sony-pictures-to-nevada