The hard-won wage tax credit to benefit Illinois filmmaking will expire Jan. 1, 2005. The bill that would have extended the tax credit for an additional year never made it to a final vote during the contentious battle in Springfield over the state budget.
With feature filming in Illinois on a roll, the film industry had hoped that the tax credit would be extended for five years beyond the one additional year it was to be given.
Now, any extension to the tax credit cannot occur until the regular session of the General Session meets in January and the process begins anew.
Intense industry lobbying in Springfield earlier this year helped push through the bill that provided a 25% tax credit on wages paid to Illinois employees.
The tax credit proved to be extremely helpful in giving Illinois a long-needed competitive edge for feature production, although the bill also encompassed television and commercials.
