Media Mention: Senate clears 'Broadway South' bill

Theater productions would get tax credits

Thursday, June 07, 2007
Staff and wire reports

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana should offer tax credits to Broadway-style musical theater productions, the Senate voted Wednesday, much as the state has welcomed the movie industry.

Senate Bill 218 by Sen. Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, would create theater credits, modeled after the state's film tax breaks, for productions that hire Louisiana residents such as plumbers, carpenters, musicians and other stage workers and either rehabilitate or build new theaters for traveling shows.

Senators voted 31-5 for the plan whose backers envision a so-called "Broadway South" in the state, despite complaints from Sen. Ken Hollis that the tax exemptions go too far.

"I think we have some pretty lucrative tax credits as we are," Hollis, R-Metairie, said.

Murray amended the bill Wednesday partly to address concerns that have been raised recently about the state's generous motion picture tax credits program. The administration has been concerned about a rash of recent movie studio proposals that include condos, hotels and even golf courses as part of developments seeking the state tax credits.

His amendments build in some safeguards to prevent developers from stretching their projects to seek tax credits beyond the main purpose of the bill. The bill now mirrors a House bill that would revamp the state's motion picture credits program to build in the same safeguards.

In its current form, Murray's bill offers tax credits for producing certain Broadway-style shows and other theatrical events, the costs of transporting a show to Louisiana and for a portion of pay to Louisiana residents. The bill also offers credits for renovating and building theaters. Although the focus of the bill's impact has been New Orleans, the credits could be used for shows and projects statewide.

The bill in its new form phases out the infrastructure credits in 2014, but it does not phase out the credits for productions. The amendment says that investors cannot take credits of more than $25 million per project.

Under Murray's amendment, investors can take multiple kinds of tax credits, such as historic renovation credits, as well as the Broadway South credits. A Senate committee had written the bill to prevent that type of "stacking" of different types of tax credits.

Murray said the supporters of his so-called Broadway South bill are in favor of the amendments.

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Credit: Times-Picayune On-line (NOLA.COM)