Governor Jindal Signs Tax Incentives into Law

Jul 09, 2009

Governor Jindal Signs Tax Incentives Into Law

BATON ROUGE - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he signed nine tax incentive bills into law. Notably, he signed six tax incentives that will continue to make Louisiana more economically competitive, including HB 898 by Rep. Cameron Henry which increases the film production tax credit, HB 458 by

Rep. Kirk Talbot which extends the sound recording production and infrastructure tax credit program, SB 277 by Sen. Ann Duplessis which extends and expands the Digital Interactive Media Tax Credit, HB 790 by Rep. Hunter Greene which extends the research and development tax credit, HB 110 by Rep. Jane Smith that provides a tax credit for clean burning motors, and HB 215 by Representatives Hutter, Leger, and Richmond that will create a cargo and infrastructure tax credit for Louisiana ports.
Governor Jindal said, “These tax incentives are critical tools to give Louisiana a bright economic future. By signing these bills, we’re ensuring that we not only have the ability to remain economically competitive, but that we can continue to move our state forward by making Louisiana the greatest place in the world to find a great paying job and raise a family.”

HB 898 by Rep. Cameron Henry is a Governor’s package bill that increases the film production tax credit from 25 percent to 30 percent and eliminates the phase-down of the tax credit program. Current phase out schedule for the film production credit (currently at 25 percent) is 20 percent on July 1, 2010, and then 15 percent on July 1, 2012.

HB 458 by Rep. Kirk Talbot is a Governor’s package bill that extends the sound recording production and infrastructure tax credit program by moving the program’s sunset provision to from 2010 to 2015 in order to stimulate long-term investment by the industry.

The Sound Recording Tax Credits provides credits for two purposes: production and infrastructure. For production there is a 25 percent refundable tax credit based on total in-state expenditures related to the production of a sound recording, and for infrastructure there is a 25 percent refundable tax credit based on total in-state expenditures for the development of sound recording studios.

SB 277 by Sen. Ann Duplessis is similar to Governor’s package bill HB 457, which extends and expands the Digital Interactive Media Tax Credit by permanently extending and increasing the credit by 5 percent creating a single rate of 25 percent of expenditures plus an additional 10 percent for Louisiana resident payroll expenditures (35 percent total credit for resident payroll). The bill also expands the definition of digital media to include technology companies.

HB 790 by Rep. Hunter Greene is similar to Governor’s package bill SB 108, which extends the research and development tax credit until December 31, 2013, and doubles the credit for small and emerging businesses with less than 50 employees. HB 790 also authorizes a taxpayer who receives a federal Small Business Innovation Research Grant to qualify for a tax credit equal to 40 percent of the award received during the taxable year. This is an increase in the current 20 percent credit.

Message from the Govenors office.