Should Snooki Get A Tax Break ?

Jersey Shore (TV series)

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The Blaze is reporting today that New Jersey must reimburse the producers of that classic television show “Jersey Shore” $420,000 thanks to a now-suspended tax credit program. Governor Christie suspended the Economic Development Authority in 2010, but all deals made before that have to be honored.

I attempted to watch “Jersey Shore” once. I lasted about five minutes. Admittedly, I am long past my teenage and young-adult angst, but the show just struck me as being about some very shallow, self-centered people who were not very entertaining. Among the cast, there seemed to be barely enough intelligence and common sense to fill a teacup. I spent my teenage years in New Jersey, and I can honestly say that the show does not depict the Jersey Shore I remember.

The article reports:

Less than a decade ago, only five states offered financial incentives to movie makers, but by 2010, almost every state in the union had a film commission and a package to offer producers. These generous tax breaks for movies and TV seemed to have gone under the radar until recently. A combination of budget problems and abuses discovered within some of the systems slowed the amount of money being offered by states to filmmakers. However, the Screen Actors Guild website lists all of the state film commission offices which contains offers of rebates/tax credits from 10% to 40%. (Puerto Rico has the most generous package.)

Tax breaks for movies probably do generate short-term revenue, but it’s a shame that the states cannot demand a higher quality product!

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