Section 181 and MISINFORMATION

Recently I was told in a seminar for Filmmakers that Section 181 was still in effect.

I was shocked as I consider myself to be pretty educated on incentives (seeing as I do my best to receive the benefits from them). I followed the renewal process pretty darn closely until, like many, I realized that until Health care passed or failed, nothing else would be voted on or passed.

When I heard this tidbit, I jumped on the internet to verify the gossip.

Guess what? Still not verified. The "signs point to no" as I shake my magic 8 ball AKA: IRS Tax code. I have browsed through SEVERAL blogs, legal websites, government sites, and Filmmaker resource sites. The only EVIDENCE I have found states this:

"According to our source at the IRS (the original author of the section), 181 is not only not going to be extended, but it is not likely to be reintroduced for several months or even years. The last hope for 181 was its inclusion on the most recent Tax Extender Act. Unfortunately, due to major political issues like the Stimulus Package and Health Care, 181 was left on the cutting room floor.

So what can film makers do when making a pitch to potential investors? The best suggestion we have is to rely on the state tax credits. There are still a lot of healthy packages and incentives out there in quite a few states including Michigan, Illinois, and Louisiana. When seeking funds through private placement, language can still be added to the documents highlighting these state tax credits which, when applied for correctly, can lead to real dollars. Those dollars can either be used toward the production budget itself or to immediately pay back your investors."

This comes from a legal website that assists musicians and filmmakers alike.

You can see for yourselves, at this legal website how it went down: http://www.stahlcowen.com/?t=40&an=1381&format=xml

This is a resource to get your filmmaker voice heard next time a bill is before Congress: http://www.popvox.com/

IF ANYONE CAN PROVE OTHERWISE, PLEASE DO!!!! (You must include links to sources.)

Thank you for reading-we need to keep helping each other out. :) CJ