Nevada Legislature may kill mystery film industry exemption

CARSON CITY — The film industry is on the verge of losing its exemption from obtaining a Nevada business license, a perk no one remembers how they got in the first place.

Assembly Bill 6 was passed unanimously by the Assembly. It was heard Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. No one spoke in opposition to the bill.

Most businesses pay an annual business license fee of $200. For corporations the cost is $500.

But for some reason, film production companies were granted an exemption during a 2003 special session. Because the measure was conceived and approved on the floor, there was no committee hearing.

Cory Hunt, with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, said no records are available to determine how or why it was done.

Hunt said 245 companies have taken advantage of the exemption. And one production company filed for exemptions under 225 different company names. All of those have since been rescinded, he said.

Hunt added that eliminating the exemption will not harm Nevada’s ability to attract film production because the state’s competitiveness is based on tax credits — not a business license fee.

No immediate action was taken by the committee.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.