TAX NEWS - 2010

North Carolina Tax: Bill to lure NC biz with tax breaks gets House OK

Expanded tax breaks for North Carolina film productions and new incentives for computer simulation games and green-based business parks are now headed to the state Senate.

The House gave its final approval Monday night by a vote of 80 to 28 to new or extended economic incentives that could cost as much as $300 million in uncollected taxes in the next five years. The bill now heads to the Senate.

The change getting the most attention from lawmakers would allow the salaries of star actors and directors to count toward the amount movie and television producers could write off their state taxes. Right now there's a cap of $1 million per individual.

Critics of the measure say there's little or no evidence that targeted tax incentives work.