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When Taxpayers Fund Shows Like ‘Blue Bloods’ and ‘S.N.L.,’ Does It Pay Off?

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has proposed an increase in the film tax credit to stay competitive with New Jersey and other states.

New Yorkers — and residents of many other states — have paid more for entertainment in recent years than just their Netflix or Hulu subscriptions.

Each New York household has also contributed about $16 in taxes, on average, toward producing the drama series “Billions” since 2017. Over that period, each household has also paid roughly $14.50 in production incentives for “Saturday Night Live” and $4.60 for “The Irishman,” among many other shows and movies.

Add it all up, and New York has spent more than $5.5 billion in incentives since 2017, the earliest year for which data is readily available. Now, as a new state budget agreement nears, Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she wants to add $100 million in credits for independent productions that would bring total film subsidies to $800 million a year, almost double the amount from 2022.

Other states also pay out tens or hundreds of millions each year in a bidding war for Hollywood productions, under the theory that these tax credits spur the economy. One question for voters and lawmakers is whether a state recoups more than its investment in these movies and shows — or gets back only pennies on the dollar.

New York has one of the largest tax credit programs and makes most of its data public, so we totaled its spending to see which productions benefited the most.

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TV Shows Receiving the Most N.Y. Film Tax Credits
2017-24

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Note: Multiple seasons included for each production. It can take years after the filming for the tax credit to be audited and appear in reports. Amounts rounded to nearest 10 cents and million.

Source: Empire State Development.

The New York Times

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Feature Films Receiving the Most N.Y. Film Tax Credits
2017-24
Credits per HouseholdTotal, in millions
“The Blacklist”$22.20$170
“Blue Bloods”$20.90$160
“Billions”$16.00$123
“Bull”$16.00$123
“Madam Secretary”$14.90$114
“Saturday Night Live”$14.50$111
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”$14.20$109
“Elementary”$12.10$93
“The Tonight Show”$10.60$81
“Power”$9.00$69

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Note: It can take years after the filming for the tax credit to be audited and appear in reports. Amounts rounded to nearest 10 cents and million.

Source: Empire State Development.

The New York Times

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Number of Movies Filmed in New Jersey
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Note: Movies refers to productions marked as “features” in the data.

Source: New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission annual reports.

The New York Times

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Filmed in New Jersey, Often Set Elsewhere
Top N.J. tax credit recipients, 2019-24
Credits per HouseholdTotal, in millions
“The Irishman”$4.60$35
“West Side Story”$3.30$25
“The Greatest Showman”$2.90$22
“Ocean’s 8”$2.50$19
“Tick, Tick … Boom!”$2.30$18
“The Many Saints of Newark”$2.10$16
“A Quiet Place Part II”$2.00$15
“In the Heights”$1.80$14
“Joker”$1.80$14
“Clifford the Big Red Dog”$1.70$13
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Note: Tax credits from 2019-24 considered. Location categorized as central setting for the movie or show. Productions that have not been released were excluded.

Source: New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The New York Times

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Source: Movies - nytimes.com


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