“Snooki Subsidy” Vetoed: NJ Gov. Christie Squashes $420,000 Tax Credit for MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” Says Taxpayers Can’t Afford to Fund Show That “Tarnishes State’s Reputation”
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 27, 2011
Cast of MTV's reality show 'Jersey Shore' - Gov. Christie has vetoed massive tax credit for the popular reality show
As I posted last week, the announcement that MTV’s controversial reality show Jersey Show was to be awarded a tax credit of close to half a million dollars set off a firestorm in New Jersey.
Now, Gov. Chris Christie has stepped in and vetoed the massive tax credit, saying that taxpayers can’t afford to support a cable TV program that tarnishes the state’s reputation.
From NJ.com, Gov. Christie vetoes ‘Jersey Shore’ tax credit:
Here’s the situation, “Snooki”: The party is over. There won’t be any tax break for “Jersey Shore.”
Gov. Chris Christie squashed a controversial $420,000 tax credit called the “Snooki subsidy” for the first season of the hit MTV show, saying taxpayers could not afford to support a program that tarnishes the state’s reputation.
“I have no interest in policing the content of such projects,” the governor said in a news release. “However, as chief executive I am duty-bound to ensure that taxpayers are not footing a $420,000 bill for a project which does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its citizens.”
In blocking the “Jersey Shore” tax credit, Christie assumed the unusual role of critic-in-chief. For example, he let stand tax credits for other shows, including “Hell in a Cell at Newark,” a collection of live wrestling shows, and “Chlorine,” a movie starring Kyra Sedgwick.
Film industry professionals had testified at a committee hearing last week that targeting certain shows and stripping “Jersey Shore” of its tax credit would have a chilling effect on production companies when they consider doing business in New Jersey.
[...]
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved the credit for the 2009 production of the show’s inaugural season. It was part of the first round of film tax credits awarded by the authority since Christie suspended the program in 2010 to close a budget deficit.
The $10 million tax credit program gives eligible film and television production companies a 20 percent tax credit on their expenses in New Jersey. The show’s producer, 495 productions, said it spent $2.1 million in the state during taping.
In denying the tax break, Christie also took a swipe at “the contradictions coming from legislative supporters” who complained about the money for “Jersey Shore” just days before seeking legsislation to increase financing for film tax credit program.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) said he agreed with Christie for denying the tax break.
“Hopefully he’ll work with us to revamp the program for worthwhile projects,” said Sarlo, who sponsored a bill approved today along partisan lines to expand the film tax credit.
From New York Times, Christie Blocks Tax Credit for ‘Jersey Shore’:
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey on Monday blocked a $420,000 tax credit that the state’s Economic Development Authority had approved last week.
Was the loser a high-tech startup? An alternative energy company, perhaps?
No. It was Snooki and the Situation.
The production company behind the reality series “Jersey Shore” had applied for the credit, intended to expand film and television shooting in the state, to help cover costs for its inaugural season in 2009.
Mr. Christie said he was “duty-bound” to see that taxpayers were “not footing a $420,000 bill for a project which does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its citizens.”
“In this difficult fiscal climate,” he wrote to Caren S. Franzini, the chief executive of the Economic Development Authority, “the taxpayers of New Jersey should not be forced to subsidize projects such as ‘Jersey Shore.’ ”
“Jersey Shore,” shown on MTV, is hardly the only reality program to get economic help from the state in which it sets up its cameras. One show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” generated a small tempest on blogs by claiming $1.2 million in Alaska tax credits under a plan that Ms. Palin had signed into law in 2008, when she was governor.
Mr. Christie told Ms. Franzini that he was not stopping other applications that had gotten the green light from the authority. Among them were tax credits totaling $9 million for a production company behind “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” the long-running television drama about detectives on the New York side of the Hudson River, and $176,900 for three films.
Jeannie Kedas, a spokeswoman for MTV, said Mr. Christie’s veto of the credit “does not affect the show.”
State Senator Joseph F. Vitale, a Democrat from Middlesex County who had opposed the tax credit for “Jersey Shore,” applauded Mr. Christie’s action.
From Reuters, Governor vetoes tax break for “Jersey Shore”:
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey vetoed on Monday a $420,000 film tax credit dubbed the “Snooki Subsidy” for the reality show “The Jersey Shore,” citing the state’s budget crunch.
Christie, a longtime critic of the raucous MTV show that offers a less than flattering portrayal of life in the Garden State, said in a statement the money would be better spent on “projects that actually benefit the state.”
In a letter to the Economic Development Authority, which awarded the hit show $420,000 in film tax credits, Christie said it was not just a matter of money. It was personal, too.
“As chief executive, I am duty-bound to ensure that taxpayers are not footing a $420,000 bill for a project which does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its citizens,” Christie said in the letter.
Since the show first aired in 2009, the outrageous antics of the tanning-bed loving, party-going cast have made “Snooki” and “The Situation” household names in America.
At the same time, some Italian-Americans insulted by negative stereotypes perpetuated by the cast have called for an end to the show.
About the author
Comments