Senate Bill S98

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    98
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing an additional  ten
   percent credit on qualified labor expenses under the empire state film
   production  credit  and  empire  state  film post production credit in
   Nassau and Suffolk counties
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  5  of subdivision (a) of section 24 of the tax
 law, as amended by section 5-a of part M of chapter 59 of  the  laws  of
 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   (5)  For  the period two thousand fifteen through two thousand twenty-
 five, in addition to the amount of credit established in  paragraph  two
 of  this  subdivision, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit equal to the
 product (or pro rata share of the product, in the case of a member of  a
 partnership)  of ten percent and the amount of wages or salaries paid to
 individuals directly employed  (excluding  those  employed  as  writers,
 directors,  music  directors,  producers and performers, including back-
 ground actors with no scripted lines) by  a  qualified  film  production
 company  or a qualified independent film production company for services
 performed by those individuals in one of the counties specified in  this
 paragraph  in  connection with a qualified film with a minimum budget of
 five hundred thousand dollars. For purposes of this  additional  credit,
 the services must be performed in one or more of the following counties:
 Albany,  Allegany,  Broome,  Cattaraugus,  Cayuga,  Chautauqua, Chemung,
 Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie,  Essex,
 Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis,
 Livingston,  Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, NASSAU, Niagara, Oneida, Onon-
 daga, Ontario, Orange,  Orleans,  Oswego,  Otsego,  Putnam,  Rensselaer,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02308-01-1

 S. 98                               2
 
 Saratoga,  Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steu-
 ben, SUFFOLK, Sullivan, Tioga,  Tompkins,  Ulster,  Warren,  Washington,
 Wayne,  Wyoming,  or  Yates. The aggregate amount of tax credits allowed
 pursuant  to  the  authority  of  this  paragraph  shall be five million
 dollars each year during the period two  thousand  fifteen  through  two
 thousand  twenty-five  of  the  annual  allocation made available to the
 program pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision (e) of  this  section.
 Such  aggregate  amount  of credits shall be allocated by the governor's
 office for motion picture and television development among taxpayers  in
 order of priority based upon the date of filing an application for allo-
 cation  of film production credit with such office.  If the total amount
 of allocated credits applied  for  under  this  paragraph  in  any  year
 exceeds  the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed for such year under
 this paragraph, such excess shall be treated as having been applied  for
 on  the first day of the next year. If the total amount of allocated tax
 credits applied for under this paragraph at the conclusion of  any  year
 is  less  than  five  million dollars, the remainder shall be treated as
 part of the annual allocation made available to the program pursuant  to
 paragraph  four of subdivision (e) of this section. However, in no event
 may the total of the credits allocated  under  this  paragraph  and  the
 credits  allocated  under  paragraph  five of subdivision (a) of section
 thirty-one of this article exceed  five  million  dollars  in  any  year
 during the period two thousand fifteen through two thousand twenty-five.
   §  2.  Paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 31 of the tax law, as
 amended by section 5-c of part M of chapter 59 of the laws of  2020,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   (6)  For  the period two thousand fifteen through two thousand twenty-
 five, in addition to the amount of credit established in  paragraph  two
 of  this  subdivision, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit equal to the
 product (or pro rata share of the product, in the case of a member of  a
 partnership)  of ten percent and the amount of wages or salaries paid to
 individuals directly employed  (excluding  those  employed  as  writers,
 directors,  music  directors,  producers and performers, including back-
 ground actors with no scripted lines) for services  performed  by  those
 individuals  in  one  of  the  counties  specified  in this paragraph in
 connection with the post production work on  a  qualified  film  with  a
 minimum  budget  of  five  hundred  thousand dollars at a qualified post
 production facility in one of the counties listed in this paragraph. For
 purposes of this additional credit, the services must  be  performed  in
 one  or more of the following counties: Albany, Allegany, Broome, Catta-
 raugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Cortland,  Dela-
 ware,  Erie,  Essex,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Genesee,  Hamilton,  Herkimer,
 Jefferson,  Lewis,  Livingston,  Madison,  Monroe,  Montgomery,  NASSAU,
 Niagara,  Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Schenecta-
 dy, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, SUFFOLK,  Tioga,
 Tompkins,  Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates. The aggregate amount of tax credits
 allowed pursuant to the  authority  of  this  paragraph  shall  be  five
 million dollars each year during the period two thousand fifteen through
 two  thousand twenty-five of the annual allocation made available to the
 empire state film post production credit pursuant to paragraph  four  of
 subdivision  (e)  of section twenty-four of this article. Such aggregate
 amount of credits shall be allocated by the governor's office for motion
 picture and television development among taxpayers in order of  priority
 based  upon  the  date  of  filing an application for allocation of post
 production credit with such office. If the  total  amount  of  allocated
 credits  applied for under this paragraph in any year exceeds the aggre-

 S. 98                               3
 
 gate amount of tax credits allowed for such year under  this  paragraph,
 such excess shall be treated as having been applied for on the first day
 of  the  next year. If the total amount of allocated tax credits applied
 for under this paragraph at the conclusion of any year is less than five
 million  dollars,  the  remainder shall be treated as part of the annual
 allocation for two thousand seventeen made available to the empire state
 film post production credit pursuant to paragraph  four  of  subdivision
 (e) of section twenty-four of this article. However, in no event may the
 total  of  the  credits  allocated  under this paragraph and the credits
 allocated under paragraph five of subdivision (a) of section twenty-four
 of this article exceed five million dollars in any year during the peri-
 od two thousand fifteen through two thousand twenty-five.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.