Eager to revive Boston’s status as a regular testing ground for big-name Broadway musicals, legislators are proposing a tax credit for producers who bring shows to the state before heading to the Great White Way.
Deirdre Cummings, the legislative director for the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, does not want any new tax credits until there is a proper study done to determine the value of existing credits.
“There are some 200 various tax breaks, credits, and giveaways to businesses and individuals,” she said. “We ought not to be adding to those until we know about what’s on the books now. Maybe there are great ones we should invest more in and some that aren’t working as well.”
That’s a feeling echoed by state Senator James B. Eldridge, Democrat of Acton, who also opposes the film tax credit.
“I do love theater,” he said. “I just think right now we’re making difficult decisions about budget cuts, and in this kind of fiscal environment, the idea of any new tax credit is a challenge.”