We Need Your Help to Pass the American Federal Film and TV Production Incentive

Dear member of the Oregon Film and Television Industry and other professionals and adjacent industries,

As the Executive Director of OMPA.org, Oregon Media Production Association, I see every day what production means to the people of Oregon. A single feature or series puts hundreds of our neighbors to work, from crew members and local vendors to hotels, restaurants, and small businesses. Additionally, the economic benefits of Film Tourism add hundreds of millions of dollars per year of revenue to our state for years to come.  Oregon’s Film Trail is truly something for Oregonians to be proud of.

Below you will find a letter urging passage of the federal film and television production incentive, addressed to members of Congress and Senators representing Oregon.

We are seeking signatures from members of the industry throughout Oregon, including crew, producers, actors, directors, vendors, and more.  Whether you work in the industry, support the industry, or love when a movie is made in your neighborhood you can add your name to the list of supporters. We urge you to sign and to circulate it to others who benefit from a robust industry in the U.S.

Best, 

Michelle Damis - Executive Director OMPA.org

Dan Eason - Government Affairs Chair OMPA.org

 

Organized in Partnership with FilmUSA and the Motion Picture Alliance

Dear Oregon Senators and Members of Congress,

We are an Oregon coalition comprising local crew, actors, directors, film commissioners, producers, and vendors who represent and support the thousands of creative professionals, technicians, and artists who power the film and television industry in our state. 

We write today in support of a federal tax incentive for film and television productions, which would ignite Oregon’s entertainment economy, create new jobs, and deliver billions in new investment into the American economy. More than forty countries around the world have implemented meaningful national-level tax policies in recent years and are now collectively the location for a majority of global production – a position the U.S. held firmly for nearly a century. States have attempted to compete in this global marketplace with their own local incentive programs. While effective, they are limited and inconsistent and cannot restore nation-level competitiveness.

The U.S. has quickly lost its dominant position as the location of choice, with its share of global production already falling to less than 40% and estimated to drop to less than 30% by 2035. 

The promising news is that more than a half-trillion dollars in global production spending is expected during the next decade. Without a national incentive policy, however, our domestic industry will miss out on the vast majority of it. A U.S. federal tax incentive would immediately change this math and promises to deliver a majority of global production activity back to the U.S.

Oregon’s natural beauty, historic locations, and unparalleled culture have attracted a long and proud history of filmmaking. From recent productions to classic films, the entire world has seen our state in such projects as Stand by Me, The Goonies, Night Always Comes, Paradise Records, Free Willy, The Road, Wild, Leverage, Grimm, Librarians, and hundreds more.

In Oregon, the film and television industry directly supports 4,000 on-set jobs annually and impacts more than 12,000 jobs per year, including both direct jobs, such as crew, and indirect jobs, including caterers, lumber mills, and restaurants. In the fiscal years 2022-2026, the industry supported nearly $800M in wages, creating an economic output of $1.77B.

We know that when a production comes to town, the benefit lands on Main Street with the lumberyard, the diner, the hardware store, the hotel, and the families who work there. Each year, nearly $40M is spent by incentivized productions with Oregon vendors, buying and renting equipment and supplies for each production. For example, the TV series Leverage, which filmed in the Portland area from 2009 to 2012, spent more than $100 million in Oregon during its final four seasons.

Film and television production is an iconic American success story, driving tremendous economic activity, recording a positive balance of trade, and supporting millions of jobs each year. The film, television, and streaming economy supports over two million American jobs and pays over $200 billion in wages annually. Moreover, the industry comprises 162,000 total businesses in all 50 states—93% of which are small businesses employing ten or fewer people.

America invented the global entertainment industry. But today we are the only major production nation that defends it without a national incentive, and we are losing ground. We can and must do more to compete because the opportunity is enormous. 

A federal film incentive would swiftly reverse recent trends that have seen high-value productions shoot abroad.

America can reclaim its dominant position in the global film and television production economy. While Oregon has stepped up with a strong state-level incentive, a federal incentive is needed to restore competitiveness with successful policies being adopted in foreign countries. 

We ask three things of you. Cosponsor the federal production incentive when it is introduced and say publicly that you support it. Contact Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) to urge that it move without delay. And meet with our coalition to discuss how Oregon leads the national effort to bring production home.

Sincerely,

The undersigned members of the Oregon film and television community:

 

Your email is collected by FilmUSA for verification and campaign communications and will not be included as part of the public signature.

Please provide one sentence describing your experience filming or working in the film and television industry in Oregon. For example: 'I have worked as a production sound mixer on feature films, television series, and commercials throughout Oregon for more than 15 years.'