To the Editor:
I’d like to bring to your attention to an inaccurate report that has been widely circulated and reported on by various media outlets in the past week regarding the effectiveness of the film and TV tax incentive program in our state.
The report was furnished by an advocacy group called Voices for Children and was based on a preliminary document from the Connecticut Film Office that was never intended to be released.
The Film Office made it clear that the draft report did not yet account for millions of dollars spent in Connecticut yet the VFC and the media chose to ignore this and ran with the story as if it were factual and complete.
Our company, dLife, is a small diabetes health media company based in Westport and is one of the entities that are misrepresented in these reports.
We have been in business for five years and currently employ more than 30 full time professionals and another 20 plus contractors during the year, most of which are hired specifically to help us produce our award-winning TV show, dLife, right here in Connecticut.
We had previously produced our shows in New York prior to the passing of the tax credit. We spend over a million dollars each year to produce our TV program and needless to say as a small privately held company the tax incentive program is a significant incentive for us not only to keep our TV production in the state but also to keep our business thriving and headquartered here.
On another note, studio space is now plentiful and cheaper in NY, while Connecticut studios, editing facilities, etc. have been incredibly busy. The surest indication that the credit is having a real impact on, hiring, employing many contract workers, facility expansions, set building, etc.
The official report from the Connecticut Film Office estimates the program overall generated $1.5 billion in new economic activity for our state, new jobs and investment at what is clearly the most difficult economic environment of our generation.
It’s fair to have an open and honest debate about whether programs like this are working or not, but we need to do so with all the facts. And the fact is this program is working.
Howard Steinberg
Founder & CEO
dLife, For Your Diabetes Life
Westport
