S4618 significantly expands and restructures New Jersey’s Film and Digital Media Content Production Tax Credit Program, extending it through 2050, raising the base credit cap for New Jersey studio partners from $150 million to $300 million annually (within an overall $550 million cap), and introducing new credit categories and incentives—for example, 4.5% credits for TV series that relocate to NJ, 4–9% promotional/investment credits, and 4.5% incentives for hiring residents of economically disadvantaged areas. The law also doubles the diversity bonus from 2% to 4%, eases access to credits, and adjusts reporting and recapture rules.
The New Jersey State Assembly passed S4618 on June 30, 2025 by a vote of 63 to 16. We have assigned pluses to the nays because film tax credits distort markets and raid taxpayers to benefit a favored industry—contrary to the principle that “all men are created equal” under the law. Rather than letting private enterprise and consumers demand decide, the bill empowers bureaucrats to pick winners and losers, shifting costs onto families and small businesses while importing Hollywood values that run counter to traditional American principles. Film tax credits frequently funnel public money to productions that push leftist agendas—including abortion advocacy, murder, lust, and the LGBTQ+ movement. Corporate welfare is not a proper function of limited government; if a project cannot stand on its own in a free market, taxpayers should not be compelled to prop it up.