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Rotten Peaches: How Governor Kemp, Cowed Politicians, and Hollywood Villains Enable Paying $198,000 for EACH Motion Picture and Video Job in Georgia
Free Republic Vanity ^ | April 25, 2022 | PoconoPundit

Posted on 04/25/2022 6:27:13 AM PDT by poconopundit



Batman battles numerous supervillians, but none is more clever than the Riddler, the best criminal mastermind in Gotham City.  The Riddler has no superhuman powers, but he excels at creating elaborate riddles, puzzles, and traps that constantly fool and evade Batman and the police.

Now in the real-world state of Georgia, dear FReepers, there's a taxpayer fraud scam so ingenious and intricately woven that it's likely the work of a gang of Riddlers.  Indeed, the schemers have spun their crime to the public as a great commercial success — which, of course, has only fueled the fraud's growth. 

The fraud is a decade-old state "business development" program designed to attract film and video industry jobs to Georgia.  This story shows why the program is not delivering on its promise, even as hoodwinked Georgia voters are told that politicians and film industry saints have miraculously transformed Georgia into a "second Hollywood" and created "92,000 film and video jobs" across the state — or so say Governor Kemp's cronies.



An Epic Fraud of Cecil B. DeMille Proportions

Georgia has been awarding hundreds of millions of dollars for more than a decade to the film and video industry through so-called "tax breaks" (actually these are full-blown subsidies as we'll soon discuss).  For its fiscal year 2021, Georgia awarded its biggest payout ever: a whopping $1.2 billion in incentives.

Georgia is also the most generous state by far in the amounts it awards Hollywood.  While most of the leading states who woo movie moguls have capped their annual incentives, Georgia has ZERO spending caps, yet paid four times what California spent.  See the chart:



What's the Payoff in Actual Jobs for Georgians?

The whole point of paying Hollywood incentives is to create Georgia jobs.  But Georgia state government has closed its books on the film industry program for more than a decade.  Only last year did Georgia finally pass a law that will steadily require auditing the program in future years.

Meanwhile, this operational secrecy has frustrated any serious discussion of questions like "How many good jobs where created?" or "what's the real benefit to Georgia?".

This is why we put together an Excel spreadsheet that estimates the actual motion picture and video industry jobs and wages that existed in the Peach State in 2021.

We believe our analysis has weight because it does NOT rely on the numbers of biased parties, such as Georgia's Business Development Department, state politicians, or firms in the Motion Picture and Video business.

Instead it uses statistics provided by a non-partisan and authoritative source, the Bureau of Labor (BLS) Statistics of the U.S. government, who annually tracks specific industries and 800 occupations within each state.

The BLS data shows the big picture: we used a few straightforward calculations and estimates to make it easy for the Georgia taxpayers to follow the logic.

Download the spreadsheet here (film_industry_fraud_in_georgia.xlsx -- 3.4 Mb).   It explains our methodology and provides links to the on-line jobs and wages data on the BLS website.  Here is the spreadsheet's summary table:

The table above estimates Georgia's total film/video industry jobs at 6,059 with wages paying $362 million dollars for 2021.

Now $362 million is only 30% of $1.2 billion, so we can assume the credits are paying not just for work done by Georgians, but also all kinds of equipment, plane tickets, hotel rooms, and the wages of non-resident industry workers from other states.  Indeed, the statute allows such expenditures.

But here's where the fraud gets ridiculous.  If Georgia taxpayers are paying more than three times the cost of all Georgia workers employed in the industry, it's no longer just an "incentive" -- Georgia is paying for the full payroll of every Georgian film/video part and fulltime job in the state, and tossing Hollywood an added $838 million of taxpayer money on top of that.

Now that's what I'd call a great deal for Hollywood... and an incredible fraud of Georgia families and small businesses! 



How Does Georgia's Bang-for-the-Buck Compare to Other States?

Let's look at Georgia's payouts from another angle.  Given the huge Hollywood subsidies, shouldn't Georgia compare favorably to other states in the number and quality of jobs created?

Well, to make that comparison, we looked at the high employment jobs in the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports & Media (ADESM) sector of the Industry.  And here's what the BLS data tells us:

  • Contrary to the hype about Georgia being the second Hollywood, Georgia is actually in 5th place among states in number of ADESM jobs.

  • California and New York hold 42% of ADESM jobs and in terms of wages.  Actually they are even more dominant since the annual wage rate is much higher for ADESM professionals in NY and CA.

  • Florida with zero incentives and Texas with a modest $45 million in capped incentives lead in the Southeast and greatly out-perform Georgia in job development bang-for-the-buck since the Rotten Peaches state has lower jobs despite $1.2 billion in 2021 incentives.

  • Finally, it's not as if the top 5 states have a monopoly on film/video industry jobs.  Thirty three (33) states offer incentives and almost half the ADESM jobs go to states other than the top five.  In short, jobs are still going to plenty of states, but only Georgia is paying billions for its meager 4% of the film/video business.


A Strong Scolding from Georgia's Internal Auditors

You know some monkey business is afoot when your own audit department writes a scathing report about your lack of adequate fraud and audit controls.  That's the gist of a 45-page report issued in January 2020 entitled, Performance Audit Report No. 18-03 -- Administration of the Georgia Film Tax Credit.

Here are the incriminating opening paragraphs of the state auditor's report:

    "As Georgia’s largest and arguably most generous credit, the film tax credit must be accompanied by sufficient controls to ensure that production companies are entitled to the credits granted.  Due to control weaknesses, companies have received credits for which they are not eligible and credits that are higher than earned."

    "Production companies receive a tax credit up to 30% of reported in-state expenditures if they spend at least $500,000 on qualified productions.  While not unusual for a state film tax credit, Georgia’s rate is higher than the income tax rate and rates for many other Georgia tax credits."

    "Additionally, the credit is uncapped for film production companies and can be sold to other taxpayers, providing taxpayers with an even greater incentive to misstate financial information to their benefit."

    "While the state has granted billions in credits, it does not have an adequate system of controls to prevent the improper granting of credits.  We found issues with the credit’s administration by the Departments of Revenue (DOR) and Economic Development (GDEcD).  The issues can be attributed to limited requirements and clarity in state law, inadequately designed procedures, insufficient resources, and/or agency interpretations of law that differ from our own."

The report goes on to say that despite granting more credits than any other state, Georgia requires companies to provide less documentation than any other, as the following map illustrates:



The Media's Role in Keeping the Scam Alive

Over the years, Hollywood's allies in the broadcast and media industries have worked overtime to keep Georgia's massive subsidies coming.  Here are two examples of hyped stories:

Indeed, it appears Hollywood may be playing state Republicans and Democrats against each other.  Republicans, who drove the Film Incentive program from the beginning, still control the governorship and statehouse.  And yet Democrats also strongly favor the incentives. 

Why isn't Stacey Abrams going after the Republicans on this juicy fraud?  The question answers itself.

Governor Kemp didn't invent this Georgia tax break scheme.  He inherited the program from another Republican governor, Nathan Deal.  But it's under Kemp's watch that the Hollywood subsidies have skyrocketed.

Now considering the meager number of jobs and annual incentive payments going into the billions, why has Kemp not capped payments like all the other states?.  Does Hollywood have Kemp over a barrel?  You'll recall: last year Republicans where widely criticized by Hollywood stars over anti-abortion laws and the Election reform bill passed last year.

Are the massive incentives paid to the Film/Video industry a kind of ransom payment Kemp owes Hollywood in an election year?  Given the gross financial mismanagement in this case, we are justified in asking such a question.


The Riddler's Illusion: Turning Incentives into "Tax Credits"

When you're trying to hide your fraud scheme from the public, is useful to twist words.

The Georgia film/video incentives are cast as "tax credits", which (on the surface) implies having to pay a lower tax.  But how is a tax credit useful to the film/video firm submitting its bill to Georgia?  After all, Hollywood firms generally don't own property in Georgia, so they have little to no tax liability in the first place.

Ah!  But what if the Hollywood firm is allowed to sell those tax credits to someone who lives in Georgia?  I'll bet there are plenty of high-income Georgia residents who would be pleased to pay 80 to 90 cents on the dollar to acquire those tax credits and save a bundle in next year's Georgia taxes.

So you see what's going on here?  The genius of this film/video scam is it's a double whammy.  It both richly subsidizes the movie moguls and puts money in the pockets of -- you name it -- politicians, insiders, Republican and Democrat donors.  Maybe even friends of Brian?

And there's no accountability: the sale of credits is done anonymously.  You can't get a list of the people who cashed in film credits because that would violate their tax priiiiiivacy.

Then, to close the deal, the complete lack of audits enables all kinds of accounting shenanigans.  You begin to see why this fraudulent scheme has a life of its own.  Or to quote the famous Aqualung song:

      Brian stole the handle and
      The train it won't stop going
      No way to slow down.

        Jethro Tull, Locomotive Breath


Second Hollywood? A Flawed Goal from the Start

Even after a decade of enriching Hollywood at taxpayer expense, Georgia has failed to build a sizeable motion picture and film business in the state.  There are actually a few good reasons why even trying to create a "second Hollywood" was an impossible dream:

  • Top Artistic Talent Lives and Works in New York and California — Talented artists feed off a community of other talented artists.  They know each other both personally and professionally.  And it's hard to break into that community if your career grew up outside it. 

    What's more, the BLS data shows New York and California talent is especially in demand in high-end jobs, such as art director, where two-thirds of industry wages go to professionals in those two states alone.

  • Multi-Cultural Richness — Are people with superior film industry artistic or business talent moving their families to Atlanta?  I suspect very few have done so.  One key reason is they don't want to sacrifice the cultural richness they find in big cities like Los Angeles and New York.  A rich culture is hard to define, but it often includes things like having an international melting pot of cultures and cuisines, museums, theaters, historic architecture, and a vibrant arts scene.

  • Not a Tourist Destination — One important calling card that Florida and California have is people fly to those states to vacation and have fun.  Georgia has far fewer attractions and if you're looking for beaches, well, that's a six-hour drive to Savannah.

It's time for Georgia's government to stop throwing more good money at a failed experiment that should have been killed a long time ago. 

It's embarassing to read Georgia's economic development brochures on-line.  They are shamelessly promotional and seem to convey the message: "If you bring your business to the Peach State, we're happy to give away the store"   and they don't even own the store!  The taxpapers do, and they are being ripped off.

An honest appraisal of Georgia's virtues must be the starting point for any economic development plan.  And the state does have some attractive points.  It's a great place to raise a family.  The weather is a big improvement over the frigid Northeast.  Trees and bushes flower all year long.  The good weather and lower cost of living is a magnet to retiring Baby Boomers.  And there's a strong culture around football and other sports. 

When Will Georgia Citizens Stand Up to End the Madness?

The scale of Georgia's cover-up in its Motion Picture/Video Industry incentives fraud is so pervasive that it may take several years to stop this elaborate Sting operation on the taxpayer.

But despite the hundreds of state legislators who remain silent, there are a few voices leading the fight to restore sanity.  Here's the perspective of two courageous watchdogs:

    “Georgia’s Film Tax Credit is the state’s largest special-interest tax break — costing over $1 billion per year — with virtually no safeguards to ensure benefits to Georgians."

    "Capping the credit would allow the state to manage the erosion of our state’s tax base while allowing lawmakers to better support high-return programs and services such as health care.  Lawmakers should place a cap of $100 million on the program, while ensuring the credit is targeted to companies that locate in Georgia and hire in-state workers.”


    "State budget documents released today show Georgia's film tax credit payouts continue to climb.  The state issued $1.204 BILLION in film tax credits last year.  That's $320 per Georgia household and 4.5% of the state-funded budget in FY 2021."

    "The cost is enormous and we're not getting a positive return.  It has to be one of the worst 'economic development' programs ever.  It needs to end."



TOPICS: Government; Politics; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: briankemp; corporatewelfare; georgia; governmentfraud; kemp; welfare4therich
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To: poconopundit

Georgia voters may be the most gullible.

.................................................

We’re not being given a chance to vote on it. Ralston and the rest make sure of that.

I researched petitions and signature procedures to force a referendum on a state ballot here in Georgia. From what I could tell, that isn’t an option here in Georgia. I hope that I’m wrong, but I think I read it right.

Even California allows it......California adopted its proposition system over a century ago to empower citizens through direct democracy by allowing them to propose legislation, vote directly on policy initiatives, and even amend the state constitution.

According to the Statewide Initiative Guide, anyone eligible to vote in California is also eligible to propose three kinds of initiatives: initiative statutes, initiative constitutional amendments, and referendums.

Initiative statutes are proposed laws, initiative constitutional amendments are amendments to the state constitution, and referendums give voters the power to approve or reject bills already passed by the California State Legislature.

Ralston has to keep a tight grip on that leash.


41 posted on 04/25/2022 3:58:51 PM PDT by qaz123
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To: Chode

And Collective Bargaining. Don’t forget about unions, unions wages, union work rules, OT, etc. All things that don’t have to be acknowledged here in Georgia.


42 posted on 04/25/2022 4:00:11 PM PDT by qaz123
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To: SPDSHDW

And to think, the county commissioners in Walton, Newton and Morgan County are welcoming an electric car company to the area, owned by George Soros. And the corrupt POSs are telling everyone he won’t have any influence.


43 posted on 04/25/2022 4:01:40 PM PDT by qaz123
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To: LilFarmer

And lets not forget that Ralston stalled the bill concerning Religious Freedom and was instrumental in getting removed from last years election/voting bill, the banning of Mail In Voting and Drop Boxes.


44 posted on 04/25/2022 4:04:47 PM PDT by qaz123
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To: qaz123

100%


45 posted on 04/25/2022 5:23:04 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: qaz123; rlmorel

I remember when Massachusetts passed 1980 Massachusetts Proposition 2½ in the 1980s. It was a revolutionary citizen petition at the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Massachusetts_Proposition_2%C2%BD

It said that you cannot pay more than 2.5 percent of your property value in local taxes. The only way it can be over-ridden is by citizen ballot.

When I lived in Newton, MA citizens voted one year for an override.

So even in highly liberal Massachusetts, you as a taxpayer were somewhat protected. And Prop 2 and 1/2 was probably instrumental in enabling Mass. to attract lots of high tech business.

Hey, rlmorel, what’s your assessment as a Mass. citizen on the ground?


46 posted on 04/25/2022 10:24:11 PM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: qaz123; frog in a pot

So, some homeowner gets a break and they use the house for 5 days of filming. Homeowner gets paid. Homeowner has to report the income and pay taxes. Movie company writes off the business expense and pays no taxes on anything. Gets the tax money that the homeowner paid, back with the tax credit.

Great work if you can get it.

* * * *

Wow, that scenario opened my eyes. Another clever con-job by the Riddlers. No movie/TV mogul needs to own any property in Georgia whatsoever. Lease it for a few days and get completely compensated for the rental expense when you sell the credit back to a homeowner anywhere in the state.

A few weeks ago, you turned my onto investigating this fraud, qaz123. And as I began researching it, the sinister nature of its design became more and more obvious as I read stories and connected the dots.

The audit report is what really blew the lid off for me. But even auditors need to couch their language a bit. That’s why airing the dirty laundry on a forum like Free Republic is so necessary.

But ultimately we still need to educate Georgia citizens about what’s going on. Nothing changes until citizens stand up, raise their pitchforks, and throw the crooks out of office.


47 posted on 04/25/2022 10:54:59 PM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: frog in a pot; qaz123

Hey, frog. Glad you like the piece.

I think your “money laundering” analogy is a good one.

Now, to clarify: the initial Hollywood expense to be reimbursed is NOT “tax monies otherwise due”.

My read is: the term “tax break” was deliberately conceived to mask how this program fully subsidizes workers from other states, a vast array of expenses — and yes, a few thousand actual Georgia jobs thrown into the pot to make this witches’ brew appear legitimate.

See qaz123’s more recent comment:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4057713/posts?page=37#37

He gives a good example there of the “creative” accounting this fraudulent incentive program enables.


48 posted on 04/25/2022 11:48:47 PM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: poconopundit

My dad was a plank owner in Citizens for Limited Taxation way back in the Seventies, something I am quite proud of, because that says a lot about my dad. He had been somewhat vilified on his school board and Selectman seat in town politics since he was a conservative, and specifically a fiscal conservative. Leftists hate it when someone who they expect to rubber stamp their spending actually digs in their heels on principle, not on the expectation of some corollary benefit, political or budgetary.

I cannot comment on the pointed impact of Proposition 2 1/2 on my taxes except to say I feel in my gut that if Proposition 2 1/2 weren’t there, we would be worse off from a tax perspective than we are now.

Proposition 2 1/2 has been the ONLY thing in my entire adult life (that I can recall) that has even ostensibly had the welfare of the taxpayer in mind in this state. But even saying that, they did what Leftist politicians do-they simply find ways around it, and never get called out on it. They take money from this fund or that which may be exempt in some way, the way a company may budget something out of operational funds versus a capital request, so the funds don’t have to travel the bumpy road of getting a capital request for money approved.

All that said, I freely admit this-I am conflicted in efforts by the state to attract business. On one hand, I am for the efforts of a state to attract business by manipulating tax agreements in some way to get a specific company to locate in the state and provide jobs.

On the other hand, why not make the overall tax environment favorable to all employers and companies including ones that didn’t get a special deal to move there?


49 posted on 04/26/2022 5:09:45 AM PDT by rlmorel (Democrats running things is termite infestation, and the exterminator won't be here for 3 years.)
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To: poconopundit

What I hear in the state...
Kemp and Abrams seem to agree to cause trouble. Not many can out do Abrams on how far she will go to be governor...
Kemp appointed the woman, Loeffler, to the empty senate seat. That seat belonged to Doug Collins. All the calls and emails to Kemp did not change his mind.. and he gave that seat to the woman and that woman lost to the dem... which gave the US SENATE to the democratic party!!

Loeffler had a young man working for her... he was the boyfriend of one of Kemp’s daughter. He was killed in an auto accident that literally blew up the car.. suspicions yes.

Kemp made a huge mistake when he let Abrams influence his decisions and he made a huge mistake when he gave that seat to Loeffler..

Kemp was a promising young man BEFORE he became governor of GA. He is MUD now. He would not help uncover the cheating in the election... He would not do what the law required him to do. He simply went the way of the democrats and let us all down. His dislike of Trump sets him way below par... he can’t do that and stay in politics.

Trump is the head of our Republican party... Kemp went another way... joining the dems and the left. He cannot regain anything.

A young fellow came to my door with Kemp’s name attached to his jacket.. I did not need to hear anything. I said I would not vote for him ..he let us down when he should not have.. to dis Trump was a huge mistake... the young man said he hears that a lot! Yes I bet he does...


50 posted on 04/26/2022 5:49:05 AM PDT by frnewsjunkie
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To: rlmorel; V K Lee; qaz123; GOPJ
The first chapter of the book, The Great American Jobs Scam, traces the history of this fraud to Raytheon in Massachusetts.

The chapter discusses the history.  How Bill Weld got involved and it rippled to support Fidelity Investments.

I believe the principle should be to NOT favor any particular industry or company except in rare cases -- and in minor investments.  And the reason is you are tampering with the free enterprise system with its built in checks and balances.

Everybody in business needs to have SKIN in the GAME.  The rewards should go to those who take the risk themselves.  And you must also pay the penalty of failure.  "That's the breaks of Naval Air" as the airdales used to say.

Trump was right when he said: if you ship jobs overseas, then you will pay a tax penalty if you try to bring those goods or services back to the U.S.  It's a similar proposition to this and it's where Bernie intersects with Trump.

Elizabeth Warren is actually right when she says the public helped rich people succeed because the public built the roads and infrastructure.

There's a moral responsibility for a company to pay its fair share of taxes.  Home owners, plus small and medium sized businesses do, so why should large corporations be exempt or pay a smaller share.  Amazon and Walmart are killing small shop-owners and they are getting the biggest tax breaks.

* * * * * *

Now one of the next steps, I think, is to explain the the key principles in some visual form -- something that's easy to read.

It's one thing for a FReeper to understand this stuff.  But what about your average Joe Six-Pack and Jill Wine-Cooler?  They are not political junkies and never will be.

H. L. Mencken discusses this huge problem of a republic in a Chicago Sunday Tribune article in September 1926:

Now at the time, Mencken was talking about the value of tabloid magazines such as today's New York Post.

But the tabloid of today is clearly Facebook.  That was created for the masses.  So now, with Twitter being acquired by somebody who believes in free speech, perhaps the next opportunity for Twitter is to expand free speech content into electronic tabloid space like Facebook has done.

51 posted on 04/26/2022 7:56:44 AM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: frnewsjunkie

Good perspective, frnewsjunkie. Kemp has many allies, particularly in the Athens area where he grew up.

But like you say, his name is MUD today given his track record. He needs to pay the price of his decisions.

People need to be held accountable for their disloyalty and for enabling corruption. I’m hoping a new generation of honest legislators and governors emerges and is voted in within the next few years.

There’s much work to be done simply dismantling the damaging programs enacted by the current generation of Georgia politicians.


52 posted on 04/26/2022 9:39:49 AM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: rlmorel
All that said, I freely admit this-I am conflicted in efforts by the state to attract business.

Agreed, so long as there are politicians and commercial money involved in a public proposition there is room for concern.

IMO, no such proposition should reach the formal stage until an apolitical group of experts, economists, etc. demonstrate a financial gain for the taxpayers.

The Film Act discussed in this thread clearly appears at midpoint of its life to date to have been just the opposite.

53 posted on 04/26/2022 11:37:58 AM PDT by frog in a pot (The General Election is NOT THE BEST TIME OR PLACE to cure your state’s political ills.)
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To: poconopundit; qaz123
There’s much work to be done...and very little time.

You and qaz123 have done a good job trying to unravel what could be a fraud against GA taxpayers.

It appears, as of Jan 2021, that GA requires production companies that apply for a tax credit to submit to an audit conducted by a GA certified CPA, and that may resolve one of the many issues.

What triggered me, of course, was the potential fraud that arises downstream with a qualified holder who sells to an "unqualifed" GA taxpaying credit user. That also appears resolved by the current version of Title 48 which provides a credit buyer shall have only such rights and claims to use the credit that were available to seller at the time of the transfer. One would think that in practice that credit buyer would have to be a film production company.

The Audit Report you linked to dated January, 2020 may have prompted the current state of the law, it appears the final state of both was reached during the same time frame.

54 posted on 04/26/2022 11:57:27 AM PDT by frog in a pot (The General Election is NOT THE BEST TIME OR PLACE to cure your state’s political ills.)
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To: frog in a pot
"...Agreed, so long as there are politicians, unions and commercial money involved in a public proposition there is room for concern..."

Spot on! (I did feel compelled to add the unions to that...:)

55 posted on 04/26/2022 12:17:31 PM PDT by rlmorel (Democrats running things is termite infestation, and the exterminator won't be here for 3 years.)
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To: rlmorel

Sadly, that addition was quite appropriate.


56 posted on 04/26/2022 12:38:19 PM PDT by frog in a pot (The General Election is NOT THE BEST TIME OR PLACE to cure your state’s political ills.)
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To: frog in a pot

Yes, I too believe the 2020 audit by the state auditors prompted the new law.

However, as with the Election Integrity law passed last year, it doesn’t go far enough.

The new law only audits film programs up to a certain amount the first year, leaving a big wide window.

Projects over and above the limit are not audited the first year, which means all the crazy stuff can still get through by moving the questionable transactions to a project not eligible for audit.

But to the pubic at large, the government did “something” and therefore a lot of people walk away saying, “well, I guess the problem is solved.”


57 posted on 04/26/2022 12:42:47 PM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: frog in a pot

I think in terms of film or movie incentives, quite so. I know how those people are.

Instead of 10% for the big guy, it is probably more like 50% for the “big guy”.


58 posted on 04/26/2022 1:12:48 PM PDT by rlmorel (Democrats running things is termite infestation, and the exterminator won't be here for 3 years.)
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To: marktwain

A cut in taxes is not a cost to taxpayers.

* * * *

Yes, but it’s not really a “cut” in taxes. That’s the deep deceit in the way this incentives program is presented.

The law creates an opportunity for massive spending that is way beyond the total wages of all film/video employees living in Georgia - with another $800 million on top for expenses.

The program is fully funded by money from the Georgia treasury. And when those receipts are submitted and the credits are issued, the Hollywood firm simply sells the credit for 80 to 90 cents on the dollar to someone who has property in Georgia.

So it turns out to be a way to reward both Hollywood and all the Georgia insiders in on the scheme.

Why can’t the tax credits be sold back to the treasury so ALL Georgia taxpayers collectively get a tax break, instead of an anonymous group?

qaz123’s follow-on comment explains this with an example:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4057713/posts?page=37#37


59 posted on 04/26/2022 1:19:39 PM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: poconopundit
So it turns out to be a way to reward both Hollywood and all the Georgia insiders in on the scheme.

Quite a racket.

60 posted on 04/26/2022 4:24:52 PM PDT by marktwain
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