Love That Dirty Water

There's something new afoot in Boston, and we're not just talking about the Celtics' winning ways. Thanks to some dramatic changes in the Massachusetts tax code for filmmakers, Boston is suddenly seeing an influx of Hollywood motion pictures being shot throughout the region.

Before the tax credit, only 5 major movies were shot in the Boston area over a 7 year period, including The Perfect Storm, Mystic River, and The Departed. Additionally, despite being set in Massachusetts, only a fraction of each production budget was actually spent here. Since the tax code revisions and incentives were passed in 2006, 10 major movies have come to Massachusetts over only the past 2 years, including 21, The Great Debaters, Bachelor Number 2, The Women, Pink Panther Deux, The Lonely Maiden, The Box, and Real Men Cry. The tax code now includes some of the following provisions:

• 25% credit on all spending in state
• No sales tax on production spending
• No caps. No limits.

A complete summary of the incentives can be found here.

"The dramatic upsurge in production, sparked by tax incentives, would not have been possible without the efforts of many members of our community - channeled through the Massachusetts Production Coalition," remarked Joe Maiella, MPC President, "including the support of our coalition by Soundtrack and Finish as MPC corporate members."

As productions spend more time and money in Massachusetts, look for the Soundtrack Group to share its resources and knowledge. Soundtrack Boston and Finish can offer office space for rental, film transfer, dailies, ADR, talent payment services and much more.