§ 31*2 — Empire state film post production credit

* § 31. Empire state film post production credit. (a) Allowance of\ncredit. (1) A taxpayer which is a qualified film production company, and\nwhich is subject to tax under article nine-A or twenty-two of this\nchapter, unless eligible for the credit under section twenty-four of\nthis article with respect to the qualified film, shall be allowed a\ncredit against such tax, pursuant to the provisions referenced in\nsubdivision (c) of this section to be computed as provided in this\nsubdivision.\n (2) The amount of the credit shall be the product (or pro rata share\nof the product, in the case of a member of a partnership) of thirty\npercent and the qualified post production costs paid in the production\nof a qualified film at a qualified post production facility located\nwithin the metropolitan commuter transportation district as defined in\nsection twelve hundred sixty-two of the public authorities law or\nthirty-five percent and the qualified post production costs paid in the\nproduction of a qualified film at a qualified post production facility\nlocated elsewhere in the state.\n (3) (i) A taxpayer shall not be eligible for the credit established by\nthis section for qualified post production costs, excluding the costs\nfor visual effects and animation, unless the qualified post production\ncosts, excluding the costs for visual effects and animation, at a\nqualified post production facility meet or exceed one million dollars or\nseventy-five percent of the total post production costs, excluding the\ncosts for visual effects and animation, paid or incurred in the post\nproduction of the qualified film at any post production facility,\nwhichever is less. (ii) A taxpayer shall not be eligible for the credit\nestablished by this section for qualified post production costs which\nare costs for visual effects or animation unless the qualified post\nproduction costs for visual effects or animation at a qualified post\nproduction facility meet or exceed five hundred thousand dollars or ten\npercent of the total post production costs for visual effects or\nanimation paid or incurred in the post production of a qualified film at\nany post production facility, whichever is less. (iii) A taxpayer may\nclaim a credit for qualified post production costs excluding the costs\nfor visual effects and animation, and for qualified post production\ncosts of visual effects and animation, provided that the criteria in\nsubparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph are both satisfied. The\ncredit shall be allowed for the taxable year in which the production of\nsuch qualified film is completed.\n (4) No qualified post production costs used by a taxpayer either as\nthe basis for the allowance of the credit provided for under this\nsection or used in the calculation of the credit provided for under this\nsection shall be used by such taxpayer to claim any other credit allowed\npursuant to this chapter.\n (5) If the amount of the credit is at least one million dollars but\nless than five million dollars, the credit shall be claimed over a two\nyear period beginning in the first taxable year in which the credit may\nbe claimed and in the next succeeding taxable year, with one-half of the\namount of credit allowed being claimed in each year. If the amount of\nthe credit is at least five million dollars, the credit shall be claimed\nover a three year period beginning in the first taxable year in which\nthe credit may be claimed and in the next two succeeding taxable years,\nwith one-third of the amount of the credit allowed being claimed in each\nyear. Provided, however, in the case of a qualified film for which the\ntaxpayer filed an initial application on or after January first, two\nthousand twenty-five, the credit shall be claimed for the taxable year\nin which such qualified film is completed.\n (6) For the period two thousand fifteen through two thousand\nthirty-six, in addition to the amount of credit established in paragraph\ntwo of this subdivision, a taxpayer shall be allowed a credit equal to\nthe product (or pro rata share of the product, in the case of a member\nof a partnership) of ten percent and the amount of wages or salaries\npaid to individuals directly employed (excluding those employed as\nwriters, directors, composers, producers and performers, other than\nbackground actors with no scripted lines) for services performed by\nthose individuals in one of the counties specified in this paragraph in\nconnection with the post production work on a qualified film with a\nminimum budget of five hundred thousand dollars at a qualified post\nproduction facility in one of the counties listed in this paragraph. For\npurposes of this additional credit, the services must be performed in\none or more of the following counties: Albany, Allegany, Broome,\nCattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia,\nCortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee,\nGreene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison,\nMonroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans,\nOswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie,\nSchuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins,\nUlster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates.\n (b) Definitions. As used in this section the following terms shall\nhave the following meanings:\n (1) "Qualified film production company" and "qualified film" shall\nhave the same meaning as are ascribed to such terms by section\ntwenty-four of this article.\n (2) "Qualified production costs" means production of original content\nfor a qualified film employing traditional, emerging and new workflow\ntechniques used in post-production for picture, sound and music\neditorial, rerecording and mixing, visual effects, graphic design,\noriginal scoring, animation, and musical composition in the state; but\nshall not include the editing of previously produced content for a\nqualified film.\n (3) "Post production facility" means a building and/or complex of\nbuildings and their improvements on which film are intended to be post\nproduced.\n (4) "Qualified post production facility" means a post production\nfacility located in the state, engaged in finishing a qualified film.\n (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the\naggregate amount of tax credits available under this section shall not\nexceed the amounts allowed pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision (e)\nof section twenty-four of this article and shall be allocated in the\nsame manner as provided for in paragraph one of subdivision (e) of\nsection twenty-four of this article.\n (d) Cross-references. For application of the credit provided for in\nthis section, see the following provisions of this chapter:\n (1) article 9-A: section 210-B: subdivision 32.\n (2) article 22: section 606: subsection (qq).\n (e) With regard to certificates of tax credit issued on or after\nJanuary first, two thousand twenty, the commissioner of economic\ndevelopment shall reduce by one-quarter of one percent the amount of\ncredit allowed to a taxpayer and this reduced amount shall be reported\non a certificate of tax credit issued pursuant to this section and the\nregulations promulgated by the commissioner of economic development to\nimplement this credit program. Such reductions in tax credit shall be\ndeposited into the empire state entertainment diversity job training\ndevelopment fund as provided in subdivision (f) of section twenty-four\nof this article.\n (f) Credit recapture. If a certificate of tax credit issued by the\ndepartment of economic development pursuant to this section is revoked\nby such department because the taxpayer does not meet the eligibility\nrequirements of this section, the amount of credit described in this\nsection and claimed by the taxpayer prior to that revocation shall be\nadded back to tax in the taxable year in which any such revocation\nbecomes final.\n * NB There are 2 § 31's\n