Aug 31 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that Congress should pass tax incentives for the entertainment industry to keep production in the country.
“I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America.”
Trump said he had met with actor Jon Voight, who suggested federal tax incentives “to Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
Voight previously advocated for a federal tax credit to boost the film and television industry in the United States during a meeting with Trump in February.
Trump named Voight, who rose to fame following his role in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy,” as one of three special ambassadors to Hollywood along with Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson in January 2025.
To fight an exodus of entertainment production abroad, Voight is working with a coalition that includes the Motion Picture Association, the Directors Guild of America and unions representing actors, writers and other talent.
SP Media Group CEO Steven Paul, a film producer and Voight’s agent, and SP Media President Scott Karol have proposed a 20% federal tax credit for labor costs on a film or television production in the United States.
“We applaud President Trump’s support for this vital action, and we look forward to continuing to work with the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress to enact a meaningful and effective national incentive into law,” Charles Rivkin, Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO, said in a statement to Reuters.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas, Christian Martinez and Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Ryan Patrick Jones)
