Trump endorses federal tax credits for US film production

President Trump endorses federal tax credits to support film and television production inside the United States. Trump reached the position after consulting actor Jon Voight. Trump said tax incentives would be offset tenfold by increased economic activity and money flowing into the Treasury. Trump called for bipartisan talks to advance the plan. Industry figures propose a federal tax credit between 15% and 20% on top of existing state programs. The proposal seeks to match lower production costs in Canada, the United Kingdom and Hungary. Trump did not specify a percentage in his statement. Trump floated tariffs on foreign-made films last year. That idea stalled because movies do not cross borders as physical goods. Production workers in California, Georgia and other states face job shortages from projects moving overseas and a drop in new television series. Employment in the motion picture industry in Los Angeles County declined to 100,000. The county employed 142,000 people in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline is mainly blamed on fewer productions. The number of movies and television shows with budgets of at least $40 million that began shooting in the United States declined by nearly 30% in 2024 compared with 2022, according to ProdPro.