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A federal film and television tax credit is something Hollywood has long wanted, and President Trump’s recent call for one signals new momentum. In a recent Truth Social post, he asked for Congress to draft and pass a bill to be called “The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act” to provide a federal tax incentive that would allow the U.S. to compete with other countries for productions. But some may be surprised to learn that this is no longer just a Hollywood issue — it’s an economic lifeline for states across the country that have been hemorrhaging productions to foreign competitors for years.
For too long, the conversation around film incentives has been framed as a coastal elite issue, a favor to Los Angeles. This framing fundamentally misunderstands where American productions actually film today — and where they’re fleeing to.
The reality is that Los Angeles faces significant obstacles that make it increasingly difficult to film here. Rising costs, complex permitting processes, and infrastructure challenges have made the city less competitive even for productions that want to stay local. The studios may be headquartered in L.A., but their productions have been moving elsewhere for years, and a federal tax credit alone won’t solve these structural problems.
