Arts & Culture in PA's FY11 Budget

(July 8, 2010) On June 30, the Pennsylvania Senate approved a $28 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2011. The budget contains deep cuts to the Commonwealth's investment in arts and culture. The bill passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives later that same afternoon, and was signed by Governor Rendell just after the Independence Day holiday.

Please see the attached .pdf for a complete listing of cultural line item appropriations, or click here to view the full budget.

On the revenue side of the ledger, the Educational Investment Tax Credit program (EITC), through which many nonprofit cultural organizations recive support for school-based educational programming, was spared a planned $10 million cut.  For FY11, EITC remains at its FY10 level of $60 million, a drop from its FY09 level of $75 million. For more information, click here.

The Commonwealth's Film Production Tax Credit program, originally set at $75 million in FY08 and reduced to $42 million in FY10, will be raised to $60 million in FY11.  The program provides a 25% Film Production Tax Credit for film production expenses incurred in the Commonwealth. The transferable tax credit is available for feature films, TV shows and series, and commercials intended for a national audience. For more information, click here.