President Donald Trump on Monday urged Congress to “immediately” approve a federal production incentive for movies and television after meeting Hollywood ambassador Jon Voight, declaring that “Hollywood is a Complete and Total Disaster!”
Trump Pushes Bipartisan Hollywood Tax Incentive
Trump said on Truth Social that U.S. production had been “dissipated in its entirety” as work moved to Canada and other countries. “Despite the name, it is getting very little work. There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly,” he wrote.
Trump said Voight and industry figures want federal tax incentives to “Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!” Reuters reported that Voight and an industry coalition are pushing a 20% federal tax credit for labor costs on U.S. productions.
“The amount of money spent on Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers,” Trump said, adding that meetings were being arranged with both parties and the effort “should be Bipartisan.”
California Production Slump Fuels Policy Shift
The proposal shifts toward incentives after Trump previously threatened a 100% tariff on foreign-produced films. That push followed a Voight plan featuring tax incentives, tax-code changes, co-production treaties and infrastructure subsidies, alongside tariffs in “certain limited circumstances.”
Reuters reported in June that California lost more than 17,000 film and television jobs since 2022, while Los Angeles recorded its second-lowest production level on record in 2024. California increased its annual Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $330 million to $750 million beginning in fiscal 2025.
Industry Backs Federal Incentive For Production
Trump said Republicans and Democrats should “immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America” and approve an incentive “to create Entertainment Jobs in America.”
“What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World,” Trump added. “Let’s get this done!”
Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin welcomed the proposal in a statement shared with Fox News, calling a federal incentive “a landmark step” toward bringing production nationwide.
Trump appointed Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as Hollywood ambassadors in January 2025, saying they would help bring the industry back “BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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