Vodkapundit

By Stephen Green

Bio

Get Updates From Stephen Green

What Else Can You Buy for $20 Million?

February 3, 2009 - 12:50 pm - by Stephen Green

Hollywood “investments” in government garner a 12-fold return:

A provision in the current “stimulus” bill would allow Hollywood moguls to write off half the production and filming costs of big-budget films and TV shows.

Backed by Walt Disney and the Motion Picture Association of America, the provision amounts to an estimated $246 million Hollywood tax break over 11 years.

Advertisement

It’s the least Democrats can do for some of their richest and most generous supporters, who gave nearly $20 million in campaign contributions to Democrats during the 2008 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Stimulating.

PJ Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:

1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.

2. Stay on topic.

3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.

4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.

5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.

These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that PJ Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pjmedia.com.

5 Comments, 5 Threads, 1 Trackbacks

  1. 1. rachel

    Huck Follywood

    February 3, 2009 - 3:50 pm   Link to this Comment
  2. 2. NukemHill

    I guess I’m a little confused about the business of Hollywood, but wouldn’t they get to write all of these costs off because they’re … costs? I mean, a business expense is a business expense is a business expense. What’s not being expensed that would be under this bill?

    February 3, 2009 - 5:51 pm   Link to this Comment
  3. 3. NukemHill

    Currently, only the first $15 million of production costs can be written off – a rule aimed at keeping low-budget film-makers in the U.S.

    Now that I’ve actually taken the time to click through and read the article, it becomes a little clearer. Seems like an odd rule to begin with, though. Only the first $15 million? Who the hell came up with that odd number?

    February 3, 2009 - 5:53 pm   Link to this Comment
  4. 4. Will Collier

    Some good news for a change: Coburn got that item knocked out of the Senate bill. Expect the next 10 years of Hollywood schlock to feature evil doctors from Oklahoma as the chief villains…

    February 4, 2009 - 6:13 am   Link to this Comment
  5. 5. rbj

    And I’ll be rooting for those evil Oklahoma doctors.

    You know what would be real interesting: have the IRS audit Hollywood, with their accounting “practices.” That coupled with Dear Leader nominees and we might actually have a balanced budget.

    February 4, 2009 - 7:27 am   Link to this Comment

One Trackback to “What Else Can You Buy for $20 Million?”