Nevada mulls massive tax credits to lure the film industry to Las Vegas trends now
After luring the Oakland A's and filmmaker Mark Wahlberg away from California, Las Vegas has its sights set on wooing major movie studios with huge proposed tax credits.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of Nevada lawmakers introduced a bill that would give massive tax credits aimed at luring film production to the Las Vegas area, including a proposed $1 billion Sony expansion.
It's the latest attempt at diversifying southern Nevada's gaming and tourism-reliant economy, which was hit hard by the pandemic.
The $190 million annually in tax credits for 20 years would be the largest proposed tax incentive package in recent state history.
In a statement, a Sony spokesperson said the company is supportive of the film industry's expansion into southern Nevada and would commit up to $1 billion on production over the next decade 'pending the passage of legislation guaranteeing a competitive Nevada production incentive.'
Las Vegas has its sights set on wooing major movie studios with huge proposed tax credits
Sony is supportive of the film industry's expansion into southern Nevada and said it would commit up to $1 billion on production over the next decade if the tax credit passes
It follows a winning streak for Nevada, which has made strides in luring businesses and top talent from neighboring California's much larger economy.
In January, Tesla said it intends to invest $3.6 billion to expand manufacturing capabilities in Nevada, where the company already manufactures batteries in a 'Gigafactory' east of Reno-Sparks.
Last month, the Oakland Athletics MBL franchise announced plans to relocate to a planned new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip, following a similar move by the NFL's Raiders in 2020.
And the actor and filmmaker Mark Wahlberg is among the high-profile Californians to relocate to Las Vegas in search of better business opportunities and improved quality of living.
'It's really giving the kids a chance to thrive,' the 51-year-old father of four told Fox News Digital of the move earlier this year, after selling his Los Angeles home and moving to Las Vegas.
'There's lots of opportunity here as well for me,' he added. 'We're trying to create a studio. We're trying to build the shoe factory. We want to create lots of jobs here.'
Nevada's proposed film tax credit follows recent deals with Tesla and Redwood Materials that totaled hundreds of millions of dollars each.
But unlike those deals, which used direct tax abatements, these tax credits would only be awarded upon completion of the films at studios built
