Happy December PAFIA members! I hope your holiday season will be full of joy and happiness.

Speaking of joy and happiness, 2018 was a productive year for advocacy of the Film Tax Credit (FTC) in Pennsylvania. Legislators from both sides of the aisle supported the program during the 2017/2018 annual budget process, voting overwhelmingly to fund the FTC at $65 million. Support from the General Assembly and the Wolf Administration is due in large part to the industry's growth and success, and the advocacy from PAFIA and its members.

As we bask in the success of 2018, we must quickly look towards 2019 and the 2019/2020 budget. The Governor is scheduled to give his budget address on Tuesday, February 5th at noon. It is yet to be seen what the revenues are for the year versus what was projected. There is optimism that the tax cuts at the Federal level will have generated more individual and business incomes (which means more income tax collected), as well as more revenue from increased spending (sales tax collections). However, there are concerns that growing pension and Medicaid costs will offset some of those gains and require either cuts or a proposal to find revenues elsewhere (i.e. new or increased taxes).

That all said, PAFIA will need your support as we continue to advocate with legislators and the Wolf Administration. As the result of retirements and election losses, there will be 45 new Senators and Representatives....45!!!! That means a significant amount of those 45 men and women don't know much or anything about the film industry or the film tax credit. It will be the job of PAFIA membership to share YOUR stories about what the film industry means to you and/or your family.

Please have a safe holiday season and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous new year. PAFIA looks forward to continued growth in 2019!