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S04999 Summary:

S04999 Actions:

S04999 Committee Votes:

S04999 Floor Votes:

S04999 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         4999--D
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      March 3, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by Sens. ALCANTARA, ADDABBO, CARLUCCI, HAMILTON -- read twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on  Investigations  and Government Operations -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said  committee  --  committee  discharged,
          bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
          committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the tax law, in relation to a television writers' and
          directors' fees and salaries credit
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 24-b to read
     2  as follows:
     3    §  24-b.  Television writers' and directors' fees and salaries credit.
     4  (a)(1) A taxpayer which is a qualified film  production  company,  or  a
     5  qualified  independent  film  production  company,  or  which  is a sole
     6  proprietor of or a member of a partnership which  is  a  qualified  film
     7  production  company  or a qualified independent film production company,
     8  and which is subject to tax under articles nine-A or twenty-two of  this
     9  chapter,  shall  be  allowed  a credit against such tax, pursuant to the
    10  provisions referenced in subdivision (d) of this section, to be computed
    11  as hereinafter provided.
    12    (2) No qualified television writers' and directors' fees and  salaries
    13  used  by  a taxpayer either as the basis for the allowance of the credit
    14  provided for pursuant to this section or used in the calculation of  the
    15  credit  provided pursuant to this section shall be used by such taxpayer
    16  to claim any other credit allowed pursuant to this chapter.
    17    (b) Definitions. As used in this section, the  following  terms  shall
    18  have the following meanings:
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10426-07-7
        S. 4999--D                          2
 
     1    (1) "Qualified film production company" is a corporation, partnership,
     2  limited partnership, or other entity or individual which or who is prin-
     3  cipally  engaged  in the production of a qualified film and controls the
     4  qualified film during production.
     5    (2)  "Qualified independent film production company" is a corporation,
     6  partnership, limited partnership, or other entity or individual, that or
     7  who (i) is principally engaged in the production  of  a  qualified  film
     8  with  a  maximum  budget  of  fifteen million dollars, (ii) controls the
     9  qualified film during production, and (iii) either  is  not  a  publicly
    10  traded  entity, or no more than five percent of the beneficial ownership
    11  of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by a publicly traded entity.
    12    (3) "Qualified television writers' and directors' fees  and  salaries"
    13  means:  (i)  for  each writer or director who receives an on-air credit,
    14  fifty thousand dollars in fees or salary  per  episode;  (ii)  for  each
    15  non-credited   writer,  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  per  series  of
    16  episodes; and (iii) for each eligible writer  or  director,  an  overall
    17  total  of  one  hundred  fifty  thousand  dollars per series per season.
    18  Provided that in each case, such writer or director is a minority  group
    19  member,  as defined by subdivision eight of section three hundred ten of
    20  the executive law, or a woman, and provided, further, that any writer or
    21  director who is a profit participant in the qualified  production  shall
    22  not be eligible.
    23    (4)  "Writer"  means  a writer who is employed or retained to write or
    24  revise scripts, screenplays, teleplays, dialogue, sketches, routines  or
    25  narrations  and  who reports to work regularly in a writers room located
    26  in the state.
    27    (5) "Director" means the individual employed or retained to direct the
    28  production, as the word "direct" is commonly used in the motion  picture
    29  industry.
    30    (6)  "Writers room" means a room or physical location where television
    31  stories are conceived by writers.
    32    (7) "Profit participant" is an individual who  has  negotiated  for  a
    33  percentage of profits generated by their television show. Profit partic-
    34  ipation  does  not include monies contractually required by collectively
    35  bargained agreements for reuse of the  program  on  different  platforms
    36  over time.
    37    (c)  Cross-references.  For  application of the credit provided for in
    38  this section, see the following provisions of this chapter:
    39    (1) article 9-A: section 210-B: subdivision 53.
    40    (2) article 22: section 606: subsection (v).
    41    (d) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, (i)  employees  and
    42  officers  of  the  department of economic development and the department
    43  shall be allowed and are directed  to  share  and  exchange  information
    44  regarding  the credits applied for, allowed, or claimed pursuant to this
    45  section and taxpayers who are applying for credits or who  are  claiming
    46  credits, including information contained in or derived from credit claim
    47  forms  submitted  to  the  department and applications for certification
    48  submitted to the  department  of  economic  development,  and  (ii)  the
    49  commissioner and the commissioner of the department of economic develop-
    50  ment  may  release the names and addresses of any taxpayer claiming this
    51  credit and the amount of the credit earned by  the  taxpayer.  Provided,
    52  however,  if  a  taxpayer claims this credit because it is a member of a
    53  limited liability company or a partner in a partnership, only the amount
    54  of credit earned by the entity and not the amount of credit  claimed  by
    55  the taxpayer may be released.
        S. 4999--D                          3
 
     1    (e) Maximum amount of credits. (1) The aggregate amount of tax credits
     2  allowed  under  this  section,  subdivision  fifty-three  of section two
     3  hundred ten-B and subsection (v) of section  six  hundred  six  of  this
     4  chapter  in any calendar year shall be five million dollars. Such aggre-
     5  gate  amount of credits shall be allocated by the department of economic
     6  development among taxpayers in order of priority based upon the date  of
     7  filing  an  application for allocation of television writers' and direc-
     8  tors' fees and salaries credit with such department. If the total amount
     9  of allocated credits applied for in  any  particular  year  exceeds  the
    10  aggregate  amount  of  tax  credits  allowed  for  such  year under this
    11  section, such excess shall be treated as having been applied for on  the
    12  first day of the subsequent year.
    13    (2)  The  commissioner  of economic development, after consulting with
    14  the commissioner, shall promulgate regulations by October  thirty-first,
    15  two thousand seventeen to establish procedures for the allocation of tax
    16  credits  as  required by subdivision (a) of this section. Such rules and
    17  regulations shall include provisions describing the application process,
    18  the due dates for such applications, the standards which shall  be  used
    19  to evaluate the applications, the documentation that will be provided to
    20  taxpayers  to  substantiate  to the department the amount of tax credits
    21  allocated to such taxpayers, and such other provisions as deemed  neces-
    22  sary  and  appropriate.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provisions  to the
    23  contrary in the state administrative procedure act, such rules and regu-
    24  lations may be adopted on an emergency basis if necessary to  meet  such
    25  October thirty-first, two thousand seventeen deadline.
    26    (f)  The department of economic development shall submit to the gover-
    27  nor, the temporary president of the  senate,  and  the  speaker  of  the
    28  assembly,  an  annual  report  to be submitted on February first of each
    29  year evaluating the effectiveness of the television writers' and  direc-
    30  tors' fees and salaries tax credit provided by this section in stimulat-
    31  ing  the  growth  of  diversity  in the film industry in the state. Such
    32  report shall include, but need not be limited to, the number  of  quali-
    33  fied   film  production  companies  and/or  qualified  independent  film
    34  production companies which received a television writers' and directors'
    35  fees and salaries credit, the credit amounts claimed by  each  qualified
    36  film  production  company  and/or  qualified independent film production
    37  company, as well as the impact on employment  and  the  economy  of  the
    38  state. Such report shall be based on data available from the application
    39  filed  with  the  department  of  economic development for allocation of
    40  television writers' and directors' fees and salaries credits.   Notwith-
    41  standing any provision of law to the contrary, the information contained
    42  in  the  report shall be public information. The report may also include
    43  any recommendations of changes in the calculation or  administration  of
    44  the  credit,  and  any  other  recommendation of the commissioner of the
    45  department of economic development  regarding  continuing  modification,
    46  repeal  of such act, and such other information regarding the act as the
    47  commissioner of the department of economic development may  feel  useful
    48  and appropriate.
    49    §  2. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
    50  sion 53 to read as follows:
    51    53. Television writers' and directors' fees and salaries credit.   (a)
    52  Allowance  of  credit.  A  taxpayer  who is eligible pursuant to section
    53  twenty-four-b of this chapter shall be allowed a credit to  be  computed
    54  as provided in such section against the tax imposed by this article.
    55    (b)  Application  of credit. The credit allowed under this subdivision
    56  for any taxable year shall not reduce the tax due for such year to  less
        S. 4999--D                          4
 
     1  than  the  amount  prescribed  in  paragraph  (d)  of subdivision one of
     2  section two hundred ten of this article. Provided, however, that if  the
     3  amount  of  the  credit allowable under this subdivision for any taxable
     4  year  reduces  the  tax to such amount or if the taxpayer otherwise pays
     5  tax based on the fixed dollar minimum amount, the excess shall be treat-
     6  ed as an overpayment of tax to be credited  or  refunded  in  accordance
     7  with  the provisions of section one thousand eighty-six of this chapter.
     8  Provided, further, the provisions of subsection (c) of section one thou-
     9  sand eighty-eight of this chapter notwithstanding, no interest shall  be
    10  paid thereon.
    11    §  3. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
    12  (v) to read as follows:
    13    (v) Television writers' and directors' fees and salaries credit.   (1)
    14  Allowance  of  credit.  A  taxpayer  who is eligible pursuant to section
    15  twenty-four-b of this chapter shall be allowed a credit to  be  computed
    16  as provided in such section against the tax imposed by this article.
    17    (2) Application of credit. If the amount of the credit allowable under
    18  this subsection for any taxable year exceeds the taxpayer's tax for such
    19  year, the excess shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credit-
    20  ed  or  refunded  as  provided in section six hundred eighty-six of this
    21  article, provided, however, that no interest shall be paid thereon.
    22    § 4. Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i) of section  606
    23  of  the  tax  law  is  amended  by adding a new clause (xlix) to read as
    24  follows:
 
    25  (xlix) Television writers'            Amount of credit for the sum of
    26  and directors' fees and salaries      qualified television writers' and
    27  credit under subsection (v)           directors' salaries credit
    28                                        under subdivision fifty-three of
    29                                        section two hundred ten-B
 
    30    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to  taxa-
    31  ble years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.