On August 4, 2020, Governor Kemp signed House Bill 1037 which amends the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act as follows:
- For projects “initially” certified by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) on or after January 1, 2021:
- Requires a production company to submit an application for a “final” certification within one year from the date it completes a state certified production;
- Stipulates the tax credit shall be considered earned in the taxable year in which it is issued a final certification;
- Reduces the number of years the credit may be carried forward from five years to three years;
- Delays the issuance of the additional 10% promotional credit until the qualifying project is commercially distributed in multiple markets; and,
- Requires an audit be performed by the Georgia Department of Revenue (GA DOR) or an independent third-party auditor certified by the GA DOR (subject to additional adjustments by GA DOR) under the following conditions:
- The project was initially certified by the GDEcD on or after January 1, 2021, but before December 31, 2021 and the project’s total estimated tax credit amount exceeds $2.5 million; or,
- The project was initially certified by the GDEcD on or after January 1, 2022, but before December 31, 2022 and the project’s total estimated tax credit amount exceeds $1.25 million; or,
- For any project initially certified by the GDEcD on or after January 1, 2023.