SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.

It's stunning really... and I'm not even sure where to begin. But the $700 billion Wall Street "bail out" package that passed last week and was hastily signed into law is another fine example of the bullshit that takes place in our government every day.

I subscribe to a magazine here in Canada called Playback. It's a production industry publication and I receive daily emails with headlines and links to articles. I rarely read through it but occasionally a headline will catch my attention, as one did this morning. Try to overcome the error in the first sentence. The article isn't really my reason for venting but the text is below...

What I find so upsetting, yet sadly not surprising, is all the bullshit that was piled onto this bill (television production included of course) to make the lobbyists happy, and so that the inept politicians would pass it. Not that I'm really convinced it should have passed or that it will make a positive difference anyway... but it's worth glancing at some of the details if you have time.

If you have a free afternoon, here's a link to the full text of the bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1424

The bit about television production is in TITLE V--ADDITIONAL TAX RELIEF AND OTHER TAX PROVISIONS, SEC. 502. PROVISIONS RELATED TO FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS if anyone really cares.

It's really Section 503 that caught my eye. And all I have to say is WTF?

Wonder if the Chinese will take civilians into space soon... I think I'd like to move to another planet.

Bailout could stifle service work

by: Etan Vlessing Oct 3, 2008

The current Wall Street meltdown and $700-million bank bailout by Washington could either help Hollywood film and TV projects find their way to Canada, or hinder them.

It depends on whether you're shooting in New York City or Los Angeles.

The economic crisis on Wall Street could be good news for Canada, as New York state is considering shrinking its tax incentives for local film and TV producers to deal with expected revenue shortfalls.

New York Governor David Paterson on Friday told a press conference his state faces an "economic bloodbath," and urged the State Legislature to meet in a special session to tackle a growing deficit.

New York has drawn a slew of production from Hollywood, including ABC's Ugly Betty, by tripling its tax break for all below-the-line production costs spent in the Empire State from 10% to 30%. New York City also introduced a 5% bonus to halt siphoning of work to neighboring states or Canada.

But with New York getting hammered by projected lost jobs and revenue from the economic crisis on Wall Street, the talk is local politicians will look to scale back generous incentives for Hollywood to plug budget holes during a slowing economy.

Under the current incentives regime to run to 2013, the state will hand out $65 million in tax credits to local producers in 2008, $75 million in 2009, $85 million in 2010, $90 million in 2011 and 2012, and $110 million in 2013.

It is understood that no decisions will be made until after the Nov. 4 U.S. election, but the proposal on the table is to scale back New York state's tax liability for local movie and TV shoots in the coming years to divert funds to more needy sectors of the economy.

Whether Canada -- and specifically Ontario and Quebec to the north -- will benefit from New York state's travails is uncertain because the earlier Writers Guild of America strike, and now the prospect of labor action by the Screen Actors Guild, has upended Hollywood's production schedules.

Now the bad news for Canada. The $700-billion bailout of Wall Street banks -- approved by the U.S. Congress on Friday and signed into law that afternoon by President Bush -- contains some unexpected tax breaks for Hollywood producers that keep their movie and TV shoots at home, and don't take them abroad to Canada or elsewhere.

Hollywood producers that keep projects with budgets of less than $15 million in the U.S. -- which excludes blockbuster studio shoots -- are expected to receive $470 million in tax breaks over 10 years.

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama has long played the anti-outsourcing card during his run for the White House by urging no more tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and more for those that invest in the U.S. market.

The surprise is it was assumed that Obama was talking more about General Motors and Microsoft, and moving jobs to China and India, than about Hollywood and its foreign location shoots in Canada or elsewhere abroad.