Film tax credits no longer getting glowing reviews

The Boston Globe reports:

In Maryland, where the Netflix series “House of Cards” is shot, a recent report by the legislature’s nonpartisan staff found that for every dollar in film incentives the state doles out, it gets back only 10 cents in state and local tax revenue.

In Louisiana, known as “Hollywood South” for the size of its entertainment industry, a new study commissioned by the state’s economic development department says taxpayers lost as much as $184 million on film tax credits last year.

In the fall, Nevada shifted most of the money from its film incentives program into a package of tax breaks for electric carmaker Tesla. And Michigan and North Carolina have substantially scaled back their credits.

“They’re a colossal waste of money,” said Paul Stam, the Republican speaker pro tempore in North Carolina’s House of Representatives. “We were sending big checks to Hollywood producers and rich guys out of state.”

The special privilege movement.