Arizona to offer $125 million in film and TV tax breaks

Film production has boomed in states outside of California and New York over the last decade, largely due to incredibly generous tax breaks — some as high as 30%. Arizona has officially signed on to its own Hollywood deal.

Driving the news: Arizona, with its $125 million in breaks that Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law Wednesday, joins a small list of states offering nine-figure tax breaks, including New Mexico, Louisiana, Connecticut, New Jersey, Illinois and Georgia.

• And of course, New York and California, each of which handed out more than $400 million in tax credits in 2021.
• Georgia offers the most, giving away $1.2 billion in tax credits last year.

Details: The Arizona Motion Picture Production Program will offer $75 million in 2023 and increase to $125 million by 2025, according to the bill, HB 2156.

Meanwhile: Arizona's eastern neighbor New Mexico has emerged as a production hub itself.

• Both Netflix and NBCUniversal committed $2.5 billion between them to produce content in the state, which has been the home for AMC's "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."
• New Mexico offers among the highest tax breaks, with some productions getting as much as 35%. Arizona targets 15-20% in credits.

Of note: This is not the first time Arizona has had a film tax credit program. It had a prior one from 2005 to 2010, when it was scrapped after the state reported millions in losses.