Our New York CPA office and nyc cpa professionals provides the following updates from the New York Department of Taxation and Finance which has issued a corporate income tax technical memorandum summarizing certain legislation enacted after the 2016-17 budget, with regard to the Empire State film production credit, establishment of a gift for the support of state veterans’ homes, and clarification of procedures involving taxpayer interviews.A summary of these tax regulation changes which may affect self-employed and freelance film producers is provided below. If you have any questions, please contact our tax and accounting office in New York City.
One amendment, effective from November 4, 2016, added Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, and Washington to the list of counties where services may be performed to earn the additional Empire State film production credit based on wages. The memorandum notes that subsequent legislation removed Suffolk County from the list, effective April 10, 2017. The additional credit equals 10% of the amount of wages and salaries paid to qualified individuals directly employed by a qualified film or qualified independent film production company for services performed in production work of a qualified film in any of the specified counties.
Another amendment established the veterans’ home assistance fund, allowing corporate and personal income taxpayers to make voluntary contributions to the fund for tax years 2017 and after. Contributions must be made in whole dollar amounts and will not reduce the tax due.
Lastly, under another new law, enrolled agents were added to the list of taxpayer representatives that are recognized by the department under Tax Law §3006(b)(2). The law allows a taxpayer to suspend an interview with the department in order to request representation from an enrolled agent. Please contact our nyc cpa office for additional information about these New York State tax regulations.