(35 ILCS 16/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Accredited production" means: (i) for productions commencing before May 1, 2006, a film, video, or television production that has been certified by the Department in which the aggregate Illinois labor expenditures included in the cost of the production, in the period that ends 12 months after the time principal filming or taping of the production began, exceed $100,000 for productions of 30 minutes or longer, or $50,000 for productions of less than 30 minutes; and (ii) for productions commencing on or after May 1, 2006, a film, video, or television production that has been certified by the Department in which the Illinois production spending included in the cost of production in the period that ends 12 months after the time principal filming or taping of the production began exceeds $100,000 for productions of 30 minutes or longer or exceeds $50,000 for productions of less than 30 minutes. "Accredited production" does not include a production that:
(1) is news, current events, or public programming,
| or a program that includes weather or market reports; | |
(2) is a talk show;
(3) is a production in respect of a game, |
| questionnaire, or contest; | |
(4) is a sports event or activity;
(5) is a gala presentation or awards show;
(6) is a finished production that solicits funds;
(7) is a production produced by a film production |
| company if records, as required by 18 U.S.C. 2257, are to be maintained by that film production company with respect to any performer portrayed in that single media or multimedia program; or | |
(8) is a production produced primarily for |
| industrial, corporate, or institutional purposes. | |
"Accredited production certificate" means a certificate issued by the Department certifying that the production is an accredited production that meets the guidelines of this Act.
"Applicant" means a taxpayer that is a film production company that is operating or has operated an accredited production located within the State of Illinois and that (i) owns the copyright in the accredited production throughout the Illinois production period or (ii) has contracted directly with the owner of the copyright in the accredited production or a person acting on behalf of the owner to provide services for the production, where the owner of the copyright is not an eligible production corporation.
"Credit" means:
(1) for an accredited production approved by the |
| Department on or before January 1, 2005 and commencing before May 1, 2006, the amount equal to 25% of the Illinois labor expenditure approved by the Department. The applicant is deemed to have paid, on its balance due day for the year, an amount equal to 25% of its qualified Illinois labor expenditure for the tax year. For Illinois labor expenditures generated by the employment of residents of geographic areas of high poverty or high unemployment, as determined by the Department, in an accredited production commencing before May 1, 2006 and approved by the Department after January 1, 2005, the applicant shall receive an enhanced credit of 10% in addition to the 25% credit; and | |
(2) for an accredited production commencing on or |
| after May 1, 2006, the amount equal to: | |
(i) 20% of the Illinois production spending for |
| |
(ii) 15% of the Illinois labor expenditures |
| generated by the employment of residents of geographic areas of high poverty or high unemployment, as determined by the Department; and | |
(3) for an accredited production commencing on or |
| after January 1, 2009, the amount equal to: | |
(i) 30% of the Illinois production spending for |
| |
(ii) 15% of the Illinois labor expenditures |
| generated by the employment of residents of geographic areas of high poverty or high unemployment, as determined by the Department. | |
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"Director" means the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"Illinois labor expenditure" means salary or wages paid to employees of the applicant for services on the accredited production;
To qualify as an Illinois labor expenditure, the expenditure must be:
(1) Reasonable in the circumstances.
(2) Included in the federal income tax basis of the |
| |
(3) Incurred by the applicant for services on or |
| |
(4) Incurred for the production stages of the |
| accredited production, from the final script stage to the end of the post‑production stage. | |
(5) Limited to the first $25,000 of wages paid or |
| incurred to each employee of a production commencing before May 1, 2006 and the first $100,000 of wages paid or incurred to each employee of a production commencing on or after May 1, 2006. | |
(6) For a production commencing before May 1, 2006, |
| exclusive of the salary or wages paid to or incurred for the 2 highest paid employees of the production. | |
(7) Directly attributable to the accredited |
| |
(8) Paid in the tax year for which the applicant is |
| claiming the credit or no later than 60 days after the end of the tax year. | |
(9) Paid to persons resident in Illinois at the time |
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(10) Paid for services rendered in Illinois.
"Illinois production spending" means the expenses incurred by the applicant for an accredited production, including, without limitation, all of the following:
(1) expenses to purchase, from vendors within |
| Illinois, tangible personal property that is used in the accredited production; | |
(2) expenses to acquire services, from vendors in |
| Illinois, for film production, editing, or processing; and | |
(3) the compensation, not to exceed $100,000 for any |
| one employee, for contractual or salaried employees who are Illinois residents performing services with respect to the accredited production. | |
"Qualified production facility" means stage facilities in the State in which television shows and films are or are intended to be regularly produced and that contain at least one sound stage of at least 15,000 square feet.
Rulemaking authority to implement this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, if any, is conditioned on the rules being adopted in accordance with all provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and all rules and procedures of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; any purported rule not so adopted, for whatever reason, is unauthorized.
(Source: P.A. 95‑720, eff. 5‑27‑08; 95‑1006, eff. 12‑15‑08.) |
(35 ILCS 16/30)
Sec. 30. Review of application for accredited production certificate.
(a) In determining whether to issue an accredited production certificate, the Department must determine that a preponderance of the following conditions exist:
(1) The applicant's production intends to make the
| expenditure in the State required for certification. | |
(2) The applicant's production is economically sound |
| and will benefit the people of the State of Illinois by increasing opportunities for employment and strengthen the economy of Illinois. | |
(3) The applicant has filed a diversity plan with the |
| Department outlining specific goals (i) for hiring minority persons and females, as defined in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act, and (ii) for using vendors receiving certification under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act; the Department has approved the plan as meeting the requirements established by the Department; and the Department has verified that the applicant has met or made good‑faith efforts in achieving those goals. The Department must adopt any rules that are necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this item (3) and that are necessary to require that the applicant's plan reflects the diversity of this State. | |
(4) The applicant's production application indicates |
| whether the applicant intends to participate in training, education, and recruitment programs that are organized in cooperation with Illinois colleges and universities, labor organizations, and the motion picture industry and are designed to promote and encourage the training and hiring of Illinois residents who represent the diversity of the Illinois population. | |
(5) That, if not for the credit, the applicant's |
| production would not occur in Illinois, which may be demonstrated by any means including, but not limited to, evidence that the applicant has multi‑state or international location options and could reasonably and efficiently locate outside of the State, or demonstration that at least one other state or nation is being considered for the production, or evidence that the receipt of the credit is a major factor in the applicant's decision and that without the credit the applicant likely would not create or retain jobs in Illinois, or demonstration that receiving the credit is essential to the applicant's decision to create or retain new jobs in the State. | |
(6) Awarding the credit will result in an overall |
| positive impact to the State, as determined by the Department using the best available data. | |
(b) If any of the provisions in this Section conflict with any existing collective bargaining agreements, the terms and conditions of those collective bargaining agreements shall control.
(Source: P.A. 95‑720, eff. 5‑27‑08.) |
(35 ILCS 16/45)
Sec. 45. Evaluation of tax credit program; reports to the General Assembly.
(a) The Department shall evaluate the tax credit program. The evaluation must include an assessment of the effectiveness of the program in creating and retaining new jobs in Illinois and of the revenue impact of the program, and may include a review of the practices and experiences of other states or nations with similar programs. Upon completion of this evaluation, the Department shall determine the overall success of the program, and may make a recommendation to extend, modify, or not extend the program based on this evaluation.
(b) At the end of each fiscal quarter, the Department must submit to the General Assembly a report that includes, without limitation, the following information:
(1) the economic impact of the tax credit program,
| including the number of jobs created and retained, including whether the job positions are entry level, management, talent‑related, vendor‑related, or production‑related; | |
(2) the amount of film production spending brought to |
| Illinois, including the amount of spending and type of Illinois vendors hired in connection with an accredited production; and | |
(3) an overall picture of whether the human |
| infrastructure of the motion picture industry in Illinois reflects the geographical, racial and ethnic, gender, and income‑level diversity of the State of Illinois. | |
(c) At the end of each fiscal year, the Department must submit to the General Assembly a report that includes, without limitation, the following information:
(1) an identification of each vendor that provided |
| goods or services that were included in an accredited production's Illinois production spending; | |
(2) the amount paid to each identified vendor by the |
| |
(3) for each identified vendor, a statement as to |
| whether the vendor is a minority owned business or a female owned business, as defined under Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act; and | |
(4) a description of any steps taken by the |
| Department to encourage accredited productions to use vendors who are a minority owned business or a female owned business. | |
(Source: P.A. 95‑720, eff. 5‑27‑08.) |