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Will Broadway Soon Get the Same Tax Breaks as Films in NYC?

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Variety reports that The Broadway League "has inititiated a concerted effort to secure, initially from New York City but also from the state, the same sort of tax breaks offered to screen producers, who get tax credits of 30% on in-state, below-the-line costs, with an additional 5% in Gotham."

The tax incentive has encouraged significant growth in the number of film and TV productions shooting in NYC. But those tax breaks were designed to lure projects from outside the city -- how could Broadway need the same financial bait?

The league (formerly The League of American Theatres and Producers) argues that as costs in Manhattan continue to skyrocket, "developmental work is beginning to migrate to other locales," according to Variety. Therefore, the argument goes, although Broadway is rooted firmly in midtown Manhattan, theatre producers and their money could go elsewhere.

This seems very unlikely. But, in an apparent scare tactic, Variety notes that the Broadway league is also aiming to "educate" city and state agencies about Broadway's greater economic contribution to the city.  For example, a successful Broadway production sticks around a lot longer than a movie shoot, whose typical three-month duration is dwarfed by, for instance, the 20-years-and-counting run of Phantom of the Opera. In addition, they argue that the chance to act on Broadway is what attracts so much new film and TV talent to the city in the first place. And more than any other entertainment option, Broadway theatre draws people out of their homes and into area businesses.

It all sounds pretty convincing. That is, until you realize that no matter what, New York theatre is probably not going anywhere, and doesn't seem to have a lot to bargain with in the first place.  I call your bluff, Broadway.

-- Daniel Lehman

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