If Georgia can do it, North Carolina can. That’s been the thinking in this state regarding film incentives. “Hollywood East” (NC) has been battling “Hollywood of the South” (Georgia) in film incentives since before 2009. And Georgia’s been winning, according to film incentives’ advocates in both states.
As recently as last year, Georgia officials had people believing that their film tax credits were responsible for $9.5 billion in economic activity.
But as I point out in my Carolina Journal column, “one thing was lacking about Georgia’s film incentives: dispassionate, third-party review.”
Read my piece, “N.C. film advocates’ ideal film incentive program a shocking mess,” to find out what we learned from the first audits of the Georgia film tax credits. To sum it up:
Despite the noise, Georgia didn’t overturn economic research findings that film incentives don’t grow a state’s economy and only benefit outside film production companies. It would be foolish to believe North Carolina could.
