AB 1839 Summary

• Establishes new tax credits for qualified motion picture productions in California for taxable years beginning January 1, 2016, allowing credits of 20-25% of qualified expenditures up to $100 million, with additional credits up to 5% for specific activities like out-of-region filming, music scoring, and visual effects.

• Allocates $230 million in total credits for 2015-16 fiscal year and $330 million annually for 2016-17 through 2019-20 fiscal years, distributed across categories: 5% for independent films, 35% for features, 20% for relocating television series, and 40% for new television series and pilots.

• Requires the California Film Commission to rank and allocate credits based on "jobs ratio" (qualified wages divided by tax credit amount) rather than a lottery system, with priority given to productions creating the most jobs per credit dollar.

• Allows qualified taxpayers to elect to apply credits against state sales and use taxes instead of income taxes, and permits independent film producers to sell credits to unrelated parties.

• Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to report by July 1, 2019 on the economic effects and administration of the motion picture tax credit program.