Lawmakers approve rules governing Louisiana’s film tax credit program

Louisiana film tax credit rules approved

BATON ROUGE, La. — The rules governing Louisiana’s film tax credit program are formally in place, after getting approval from the Legislature’s tax committees.

The seven-page guidelines were written by the Department of Economic Development and the Division of Administration. They describe what types of expenses count toward the tax credits, how to get certification that a project is eligible and how to appeal rejections.

The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee approved the rules Monday without objection, after making modest tweaks.

The rules come six months after the Legislature raised the tax credit from 25 percent to 30 percent and eliminated a planned phase-down of the program.

Sherri McConnell, state entertainment industry director, says the film and TV industry already had been using the proposed guidelines, prior to Monday’s formal approval.