Trump calls for Hollywood tax incentive

The president threw his support behind a federal production incentive for film and television.

LOS ANGELES — Donald Trump called Monday on Congress to move “immediately” to create a federal production incentive for film and television, throwing his support behind a growing effort in Hollywood to stem the loss of entertainment work to other countries.

In a lengthy social media post, the president said Republicans and Democrats should “craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America,” adding that Congress should approve it. Trump, who previously weighed introducing a tariff on films made overseas, praised actor Jon Voight, one of his Hollywood ambassadors, who has been working on an effort to create the legislation with a group of entertainment industry leaders.

POLITICO reported over the weekend that a bipartisan group of House members could introduce legislation as soon as September.

“He is a fantastic man who loves our Country, and feels strongly about the Motion Picture and Television Industry,” Trump said of Voight. “He hates what’s happened to it! It is being dissipated in its entirety. It has moved to Canada, and other Countries, with very little work being done anymore in the United States. Hollywood is a Complete and Total Disaster!”

For years, rich production incentives from countries around the world — among them Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom — have lured film and television shoots away from the United States. While many states offer credits of their own — California doubled the size of its offering last year to $750 million annually — those enticements have failed to stem the losses.

In a statement, Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin praised Trump’s “support for this vital action.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress to enact a meaningful and effective national incentive into law,” Rivkin said.

Trump’s comments mark his clearest endorsement yet of a federal production incentive. He said legislation could be “done quickly, accurately, efficiently and, importantly, will benefit ALL of America. What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World.”