(Your home address)

Date:

Assemblyman   (Name)                                                Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

Legislative Office Building, Room #                               Legislative Office Building, Room 932

Albany, New York 12248                                            Albany, New York 12248

Senator (Name)                                                           Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith

Legislative Office Building, Room #                               Legislative Office Building, Room 909

Albany, New York 12247                                            Albany, New York 12247

RE: New York State Film and Television Tax Credits

Dear Assemblyman (Name), Senator (Name), Assembly Speaker Silver and Senate Majority Leader Smith,

I am writing to alert you to the devastating impact the Governor’s decision to not include additional funding for the film and television tax credits in his latest budget proposal would have, not only on my livelihood, but to many other individuals and small businesses in New York as well as the loss of tax revenue dollars to New York State.

I have been a (job description, union affiliation, etc .including # of years).  Since the New York State Film and Television Tax Credit Program was signed in to law in late 2004, I have had constant work and my family can enjoy a level of stability and planning for the future which we had not been able to have before.  Not replenishing these film and TV tax credits in the current budget might cause me to lose my job, even possibly my home.  It will certainly mean loss of savings, education opportunities and choosing which bills get paid, sacrificing schooling, etc.

Film and TV productions are voting with their feet. Without the certainty of tax credits, producers are taking projects out of the state and out of the country. In 2008 19 TV Pilots were produced in New York but only two got into the program before the tax credits were used up. Projects which did not receive the tax credits are simply gone, along with the jobs that go with them. The same can be said of many feature films which wanted to shoot in New York but are now also going to non-NY locations, all of which offer Tax Credit programs. These are all 2009 jobs that are just disappearing from our State. This situation could be turned around if the NYS Assembly and Senate work with the Governor to continue the program.

Since the tax credit program was established New York film and television production has been booming, with local businesses from sandwich shops to dry-cleaners and car service companies reaping the benefits.  Let’s not lose the gains we have made, especially at a time when we need to grow industries, not chase them out of town.

We know New York is the best place for film and television production; we hope you will see that it is too.

Thank you for your support.

(Your Name)