Jon Voight joins studios, unions to press Trump for film aid

President Donald Trump’s Hollywood ambassadors joined studios, labor unions and producers in asking the White House to expand and extend tax incentives as part of an upcoming budget reconciliation bill.

A letter dated Monday asked the president to include three film and TV incentives in the budget bill being drafted by Congress. The coalition includes the Motion Picture Association, which represents Hollywood studios, as well as unions of writers, actors and other trades.

Actor Jon Voight, who was named one of three special ambassadors to Hollywood in January, is leading the effort to obtain assistance from Washington to boost US film and TV jobs. The groups signing the letter represent nearly 400,000 industry professionals. Sylvester Stallone, another Trump ambassador, also signed the letter.

The U.S. film and TV industry has struggled in recent years as entertainment companies reduced their spending and moved production overseas, where cheaper labor and more generous government subsidies make their business more profitable. 

The letter doesn’t mention tariffs on foreign film production, which Trump said he would pursue in a social media post on May 4. His 100% tariff proposal, made after a visit with Voight, sent the shares of studios such as Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. tumbling as investors considered the possibility of rising costs and a trade war in the entertainment business. 

The specific proposals in the new letter involve reviving Section 199 of the tax code, which provided deductions for manufacturing to film and TV production, extending Section 181, which allows for accelerated deductions, and restoring Section 461, which lets businesses use past losses to reduce future taxes.