2023 New York Laws › TAX - Tax › Article 1 - Short Title; Definitions; Miscellaneous › 31*2 - Empire State Film Post Production Credit.

* §  31.  Empire  state  film post production credit. (a) Allowance of
credit. (1) A taxpayer which is a qualified film production company, and
which is subject to tax under  article  nine-A  or  twenty-two  of  this
chapter,  unless  eligible  for  the credit under section twenty-four of
this article with respect to the qualified  film,  shall  be  allowed  a
credit  against  such  tax,  pursuant  to  the  provisions referenced in
subdivision (c) of this section to  be  computed  as  provided  in  this
subdivision.
(2)  The  amount of the credit shall be the product (or pro rata share
of the product, in the case of a member  of  a  partnership)  of  thirty
percent  and  the qualified post production costs paid in the production
of a qualified film at a  qualified  post  production  facility  located
within  the  metropolitan commuter transportation district as defined in
section twelve hundred  sixty-two  of  the  public  authorities  law  or
thirty-five  percent and the qualified post production costs paid in the
production of a qualified film at a qualified post  production  facility
located elsewhere in the state.
(3) (i) A taxpayer shall not be eligible for the credit established by
this  section  for  qualified post production costs, excluding the costs
for visual effects and animation, unless the qualified  post  production
costs,  excluding  the  costs  for  visual  effects  and animation, at a
qualified post production facility meet or exceed  seventy-five  percent
of  the  total  post  production  costs,  excluding the costs for visual
effects and animation, paid or incurred in the post  production  of  the
qualified  film  at  any post production facility. (ii) A taxpayer shall
not be eligible for the credit established by this section for qualified
post production costs which are costs for visual  effects  or  animation
unless  the  qualified  post  production  costs  for  visual  effects or
animation at a qualified post production facility meet or  exceed  three
million dollars or twenty percent of the total post production costs for
visual effects or animation paid or incurred in the post production of a
qualified film at any post production facility, whichever is less. (iii)
A  taxpayer  may  claim  a  credit  for  qualified post production costs
excluding the costs for visual effects and animation, and for  qualified
post production costs of visual effects and animation, provided that the
criteria  in  subparagraphs  (i)  and  (ii)  of  this paragraph are both
satisfied. The credit shall be allowed for the taxable year in which the
production of such qualified film is completed.
(4) No qualified post production costs used by a  taxpayer  either  as
the  basis  for  the  allowance  of  the  credit provided for under this
section or used in the calculation of the credit provided for under this
section shall be used by such taxpayer to claim any other credit allowed
pursuant to this chapter.
(5) If the amount of the credit is at least one  million  dollars  but
less  than  five million dollars, the credit shall be claimed over a two
year period beginning in the first taxable year in which the credit  may
be claimed and in the next succeeding taxable year, with one-half of the
amount  of  credit  allowed being claimed in each year. If the amount of
the credit is at least five million dollars, the credit shall be claimed
over a three year period beginning in the first taxable  year  in  which
the  credit may be claimed and in the next two succeeding taxable years,
with one-third of the amount of the credit allowed being claimed in each
year.
(6)  For  the  period  two  thousand  fifteen  through  two   thousand
thirty-four,  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, composers, producers and performers,  other  than
background  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,
Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango,  Clinton,  Columbia,
Cortland,  Delaware,  Dutchess,  Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee,
Greene,  Hamilton,  Herkimer,  Jefferson,  Lewis,  Livingston,  Madison,
Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans,
Oswego,  Otsego,  Putnam,  Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie,
Schuyler, Seneca, St.  Lawrence,  Steuben,  Sullivan,  Tioga,  Tompkins,
Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates.
(b)  Definitions.  As  used  in this section the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
(1) "Qualified film production company"  and  "qualified  film"  shall
have  the  same  meaning  as  are  ascribed  to  such  terms  by section
twenty-four of this article.
(2) "Post production costs" means production of original content for a
qualified  film  employing  traditional,  emerging  and   new   workflow
techniques   used  in  post-production  for  picture,  sound  and  music
editorial, rerecording  and  mixing,  visual  effects,  graphic  design,
original  scoring,  animation,  and  musical  composition; but shall not
include the editing of previously produced content for a qualified film.
(3) "Post production facility" means  a  building  and/or  complex  of
buildings  and  their improvements on which film are intended to be post
produced.
(4) "Qualified post  production  facility"  means  a  post  production
facility located in the state, engaged in finishing a qualified film.
(c)  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the contrary, the
aggregate amount of tax credits available under this section  shall  not
exceed the amounts allowed pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision (e)
of  section  twenty-four  of  this article and shall be allocated in the
same manner as provided for in  paragraph  one  of  subdivision  (e)  of
section twenty-four of this article.
(d)  Cross-references.  For  application of the credit provided for in
this section, see the following provisions of this chapter:
(1) article 9-A: section 210-B: subdivision 32.
(2) article 22: section 606: subsection (qq).
(e) With regard to certificates of  tax  credit  issued  on  or  after
January  first,  two  thousand  twenty,  the  commissioner  of  economic
development shall reduce by one-quarter of one  percent  the  amount  of
credit  allowed  to a taxpayer and this reduced amount shall be reported
on a certificate of tax credit issued pursuant to this section  and  the
regulations  promulgated  by the commissioner of economic development to
implement this credit program. Such reductions in tax  credit  shall  be
deposited  into  the  empire  state entertainment diversity job training
development fund as provided in subdivision (f) of  section  twenty-four
of this article.
* NB There are 2 § 31's