Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Act; revise to increase certain rebates and removing caps on individual productions.

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To: Ways and Means
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Harness

HOUSE BILL NO. 1365

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 57-89-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REVISE THE MISSISSIPPI MOTION PICTURE INCENTIVE ACT BY INCREASING 2
THE REBATE PERCENTAGES ON THE BASE INVESTMENT MADE BY A MOTION 3
PICTURE PRODUCTION COMPANY FROM 25% TO 40%; TO PROVIDE AN 4
ADDITIONAL 10% REBATE FOR PRODUCTIONS WHICH FEATURE MISSISSIPPI'S 5
CULTURAL, HISTORICAL AND NATURAL LANDMARKS, AND IDENTIFYING WHICH 6
SUCH FEATURES SHALL BE GIVEN PRIORITY FOR SAID ADDITIONAL REBATE; 7
TO DEFINE "ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES"; TO REMOVE THE ANNUAL CAPS ON 8
REBATES FOR INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTIONS AND AGGREGATE YEARLY 9
DISBURSEMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 11
SECTION 1. Section 57-89-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 12
amended as follows: 13
57-89-7. (1) (a) A motion picture production company that 14
expends at least Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in base 15
investment, payroll and/or fringes, and eligible expenditures in 16
the state shall be entitled to a rebate of a portion of the base 17
investment made by the motion picture production company. Subject 18
to the provisions of this section, the amount of the rebate shall 19
be equal to * * * forty percent (40%) of the base investment made 20
by the motion picture production company. 21
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(b) In addition to the rebates authorized under 22
paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of this subsection, a motion picture 23
production company may receive a rebate equal to twenty-five 24
percent (25%) of payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is 25
not a resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi 26
Income Tax Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and 27
fringes paid for an employee exceeds Five Million Dollars 28
($5,000,000.00), then the rebate is authorized only for the first 29
Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 30
(c) In addition to the rebates authorized under 31
paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of this subsection, a motion picture 32
production company may receive a rebate equal to thirty percent 33
(30%) of payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is a 34
resident and whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax 35
Withholding Law of 1968. However, if the payroll and fringes paid 36
for an employee exceeds Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), then 37
the rebate is authorized only for the first Five Million Dollars 38
($5,000,000.00) of such payroll and fringes. 39
(d) In addition to the rebates authorized in paragraphs 40
(a), (b) and (c) of this subsection, a motion picture production 41
company may receive an additional rebate equal to five percent 42
(5%) of the payroll and fringes paid for any employee who is an 43
honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces and 44
whose wages are subject to the Mississippi Income Tax Withholding 45
Law of 1968. 46
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(e) In addition to the rebates authorized in paragraphs 47
(a), (b), (c) and (d) of this subsection, a motion picture 48
production company whose production primarily features 49
Mississippi's cultural, historical or natural landmarks, shall be 50
entitled to an additional rebate equal to ten percent (10%) of the 51
base investment made by the motion picture production company, 52
provided that such cultural, historical or natural landmarks: 53
(i) Include, but not be limited to, Civil Rights' 54
history, the origins of Blues and Country Music, or the 55
Mississippi River; or 56
(ii) Are set in iconic locations within the state, 57
with priority given to the City of Vicksburg, City of Natchez and 58
regions within the Mississippi Delta. 59
( * * *f) Base investment, payroll and/or fringes for 60
which a rebate may be requested under this section: (i) may not 61
be used or included for the purpose of satisfying any minimum 62
investment required in order to be eligible for a rebate under 63
Section 57-89-51 and (ii) may not be used for and shall not be 64
eligible for any rebate authorized under Section 57-89-51. 65
( * * *g) If a motion picture has physical production 66
activities and/or post-production activities both inside and 67
outside the state, then the motion picture production company 68
shall be required to provide an itemized accounting for each 69
employee regarding such activities inside and outside the state 70
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for the purposes of proration of eligible payroll based on the 71
percentage of activities performed in the state. 72
* * * 73
* * * For purposes of this subsection, the term "eligible 74
expenditures" include, but are not limited to, in-state labor 75
under paragraph (c), equipment rentals, lodging accommodations, 76
catering and local transportation or fleet services. 77
(2) A motion picture production company desiring a rebate 78
under this section must submit a rebate request to the Department 79
of Revenue upon completion of the project. The request must 80
include a detailed accounting of the base investment made by the 81
motion picture production company and any other information 82
required by the Department of Revenue. Rebates made by the 83
Department of Revenue under this section shall be made from 84
current income tax collections. The Department of Revenue shall 85
not approve any application for a rebate under subsection (1)(b) 86
of this section after July 1, 2017. 87
(3) The Department of Revenue shall have all powers 88
necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this 89
section, and the Department of Revenue shall promulgate rules and 90
regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative 91
Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section. 92
(4) The State Auditor may conduct performance and compliance 93
audits under this article according to Section 7-7-211(o) and may 94
bill the oversight agency. 95
H. B. No. 1365 *HR26/R1079* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Act;
revise to increase certain rebates and removing
caps on individual productions.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 96
and after July 1, 2026. 97