ATLANTA - The state agencies in charge of Georgia’s film tax credit have strengthened oversight of the program by fully or partially addressing all shortcomings identified in a 2020 audit, a follow-up review has concluded.
The General Assembly passed legislation two years ago requiring all film productions located in Georgia to undergo mandatory audits by the state Department of Revenue or third-party auditors selected by the agency.
It also tightened rules governing how film companies transfer or sell unused tax credits to other businesses, a common practice for production groups that conduct part of their movie-making work outside Georgia.
Georgia’s film industry took off after the state began offering generous tax credits to lure productions. The program’s economic impact has soared from $242 million in 2007, the year before the General Assembly passed legislation significantly increasing the tax credit, to a record-setting $4 billion in direct spending in fiscal 2021.
But the program’s supporters were put on the defensive after two critical audits released at the beginning of 2020 found it had been poorly managed and called into question the accuracy of fiscal impact estimates.
