Proposed limit on Georgia film tax credit could become meaningless if studios are protected

Some Georgia lawmakers are having second thoughts about limiting the value of the state’s lucrative film tax credit.

The Senate Finance Committee voted narrowly on Wednesday to rewrite parts of House Bill 1180, which is aimed at creating limits. The bill would still require moviemakers to spend more in the state to max out the film tax credit. But it would exempt movies mostly made at large studios in Georgia from a proposed cap on how many tax credits could be cashed in by selling them to others.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, a Rome Republican, said he thought the exemption for Georgia studios would be so significant that remaining productions that don’t use large Georgia studios would never hit the cap, although it remains in the committee’s version of the bill.