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A new story in the Las Vegas Review Journal talks about the continued lack of filming incentives in Nevada, an issue about which I have written previously. As discussed in the story, Nevada continues to lose dollars to neighboring states as companies opt to film in places where economic incentives make a significant difference to overall production costs. What kills me about this is that we are losing the opportunity to host t.v. shows and films that actually take place in Nevada, which opt to film in New Mexico or other states that provide substantial production incentives. For example, a new CBS television show "Vegas," which takes place in (you guessed it) Las Vegas, is being filmed in Las Vegas -- the one in New Mexico.
To give you a sense of the net economic impact that is being lost to other states, total television and film revenue in Nevada was $102.5 million in 2011, compared with New Mexico's reported $276.7 million in direct spending in 2011 due to film and t.v. productions. And the state continues to experience what has been called a "steady decline" in filming revenue that has been trending downward for the last 10 years.
Until the legislature understands the value that film and television production can bring to our state and create incentives for filming here, I'm afraid we will continue to miss opportunities and lose dollars to our neighbors. And that will mean fewer jobs for skilled crew members here in Nevada.
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