Opinion: N.C. should give more incentives to film producers

As per the budget released Monday by state legislators, North Carolina will see a slight increase in its film tax incentive program.

Though this represents progress for an industry that saw incentives gutted by $50 million at the end of last year, it is doubtful that the increase — a mere $4 million for TV productions — will have any long term impact on the economy.

Future budgets should allocate more resources to the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund, to diversify the state’s economy.

It is certainly beneficial to the state economy that the Triangle and Charlotte are becoming major economic centers. However, the growth seen in the Triangle and Charlotte is unfortunately not representative of the entire state.

Clearly the development of the film industry would not act as a panacea for all of North Carolina’s economic inequalities. But the reduction of tax incentives for the film industry was a serious misstep in generating jobs outside of the clusters of development that are the Triangle and Charlotte.

Furthermore, since 1963 the state has supported the UNC School of the Arts, which, according to its website, “is the state’s unique professional school for the performing, visual and moving arts.”

Given that in the past Gov. Pat McCrory has stressed the importance of connecting higher education to job opportunities, it is all the more frustrating that the film industry has been downsized when the state funds a school specifically for learning the arts.

Even if the grant fund does not reach the original spending levels, it would behoove the state to increase it significantly from where it currently is.