Gov. Brown Extends Filmmakers Tax Credit Through 2015

The credit offers rebates of up to 25% of production expenses and is meant to keep television and film jobs in California

California will continue offering filmmakers a 25 percent tax credit under a program Gov. Jerry Brown extended on Sunday.

The California Motion Picture Tax Credit was created in 2009 and is meant to keep production jobs in California. It authorizes a total of $100 million in tax credits.

Members of the state Assembly passed the bill by a 74-1 vote on Sept. 10. The state Senate passed it by a 34-2 vote the same day.

Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, a Democrat from Sylmar, sponsored the bill, which former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first signed.

The credit was set to expire in 2014.

According to the California Film Commission, "the new one-year extension provides added continuity and certainty to a program that has proved very successful."

Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for the governor, said that entertainment "is a backbond California industry and we have a responsibility to keep film and television production here. Exteding the credit, she said, "will create new jobs and keep Californians employed."

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