An Act To Promote Filmmaking in the State
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6903 is enacted to read:
§ 6903. Reimbursement for visual media production in rural Maine
1. Reimbursement eligibility. A visual media production company that qualifies for reimbursement under section 6902 is also allowed reimbursement under this section if it undertakes a visual media production that is a feature film that meets the requirements set out in this subsection.
A. The estimated production expenditures for the entire visual media production must exceed $4,200,000, with the portion of estimated production expenditures for activities in the State exceeding $2,500,000.
B. The primary production activities in the State must be completed before January 1, 2015.
C. The primary location of filming must be in a rural area in Maine.
2. Amount of reimbursement. A visual media production company eligible for reimbursement under subsection 1 is allowed reimbursement equal to 20% of the expenditures of the visual media production company that are related to the visual media production in this State, up to a maximum of $800,000. Reimbursement under this section is in addition to any other reimbursement or tax credits to which the visual media production company is entitled.
3. Procedure for reimbursement. By July 1, 2015, a visual media production company shall report to the State Tax Assessor and to the Department of Economic and Community Development the amount of production expenditures for which the visual media production company is seeking reimbursement under this section, together with any additional information the assessor may reasonably require. The assessor shall report to the commissioner the reimbursement amount to which the visual media production company is entitled. The commissioner shall pay the amounts to the visual media production company in 4 equal annual installments beginning in July 2015 and in July of each of the following 3 years. Reimbursement under this section is subject to the same audit provisions as under section 6902, subsection 3.
4. Repeal. This section is repealed December 31, 2018.
summary
This bill provides reimbursement for expenditures made by a visual media production company for a feature film production in rural Maine that occurs primarily before January 1, 2015. Reimbursement is limited to $800,000 and will be paid in 4 equal annual installments beginning in July 2015.