The film credit, first introduced in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, allows production companies to deduct the first $15 million in filming costs from taxes, $20 million if the project is completed in a low-income community, according to the IRS.
Since his first appearance in the 1928 animated short “Steamboat Willy,” there has been no greater American ambassador than Mickey Mouse, the cartoon character who sparked the launch of the media empire of the Walt Disney Co.
Generations of children and adults worldwide have grown up on Disney comics featuring Mickey and thousands of other characters, visited the sprawling and magical theme parks in Florida and California and played with toys and games brandishing the familiar Disney logo.
But despite the illustrious international influence enjoyed by Mickey Mouse and the Disney Empire, it could not have been possible without substantial help from Uncle Sam.
Perhaps that is why the company pushed for the resolution of the “fiscal cliff,” specifically the portions that renewed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal film tax credits.
The Mickey Mouse Tax Credit
According to the latest lobbying disclosure report submitted to the Senate, lobbyists for Disney pushed to extend millions in federal film credits in the final spending and tax deal adopted by Congress Jan.1, hidden among hundreds of other “tax extenders.”
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