NEW YORK PASSES MOVIE TAX INCENTIVES

Overcoming strong political opposition from some New York state lawmakers who have contended that the state should not be granting tax incentives to the movie industry while it is struggling to balance its budget, the legislature on Tuesday adopted a budget that includes tax credits worth $420 million annually to attract movie and TV producers. In a statement, John Johnston, head of the New York Production Alliance, said, “The governor and legislature should be congratulated for their farsighted support of a program that returns more to the state than it costs and keeps and creates jobs for New Yorkers — jobs that could have gone to other states.” The state had seen an exodus of some TV productions and little new film business over the past year after its 2010 allocation of tax credits was exhausted early.