Film Subsidies

Adam Schiff Wants Federal Tax Credits for Movie and TV Production

Studies repeatedly show the credits aren't worth the cost.

Joe Lancaster | 6.17.2026 3:45 PM

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While everybody struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood has yet to recover: Box office receipts and ticket sales remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Eager to cut costs, studios increasingly shoot films and TV shows overseas. Unsurprisingly, one lawmaker thinks the government should help.

"Los Angeles has been the world's entertainment capital for 100 years and still has an unmatched concentration of talent and infrastructure," Gene Maddaus writes at Variety. "But in an age of globalization, with easy international travel and communication, the city is losing its edge."

While still synonymous with the entertainment industry, fewer and fewer projects are actually filmed in Hollywood.

The problem primarily comes down to cost. "Everything costs more in L.A., starting with labor, due to the high cost of living and elaborate union agreements," Maddaus writes. "Other states and countries have developed crew bases of their own, are more solicitous of producers' needs and offer more generous incentives."

It's that latter problem that lawmakers seem so keen on solving.

"In order to save this industry in America, we need to be competitive with tax credits," Sen. Adam Schiff (D–Calif.) told Variety. Schiff wants a federal film production........

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