Hy and Christopher are joined by the Rev. Byron Clay for the first segment. The famed civil rights leader and former head of the national Southern Christian Leadership Conference will be the keynote speaker for the MLK festivities and march in St. John Parish. He speaks about the need for love as an antidote to our broken politics, and emphasizes that the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King remain as relevant today as they ever were. He speaks about his relationship with the King family, and the importance of the holiday. The rally is at 9:00 AM on the MLK Holiday at the Percy Hebert Bldg., 1801 W. Airline Hwy., LaPlace.In the second segment, Hy and Christopher urge our listeners to “ Save the Louisiana Live Performance Tax Credits”. Due to expire in 2025, they constitute almost quarter of the operating revenue of the New Orleans Opera, the LPO, and several other local artistic institutions.In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one of the few serendipities was a cavalcade of new economic development ideas. Few came to fruition, but one, co-originated by Roger Wilson and Christopher Tidmore passed through the legislature through the tireless efforts of Bill Hines and the late David Voelker. It extended the movie tax credits to live, legitimate theatre. The idea was to create a live performance nexus in New Orleans and throughout the state in theater and live music, featuring our homegrown talent. Since the tax credit only began with productions of over $100,000 in revenue, it sought to create a large performance market where one effectively barely existed, and 50% of the credits were reserved for nonprofits, so that most of the money stayed at home— a protection that never existed in the creation of the film credits.By midsummer 2025, these live performance credits are scheduled to expire, and without a major legislative initiative to renew them, the financial damage to storied institutions like the New Orleans Opera and the Louisiana Philharmonic could be catastrophic.These tax credits are designed to encourage large productions which hire a lot of people, especially “below the line” personnel such as carpenters, electricians, set designers, and others involved in building major staged performances. These are well-paid skilled laborers, mostly in union jobs, In total cost, the program amounts to only $10 million, a proverbial drop in the bucket of the $35 billion state budget, and each maximum tax credit is limited to $1 million maximum per production, so that one entity cannot claim it all.The benefits to nonprofit performing arts organizations have been critical in their continued survival. The live performance credits constitute, for example, almost 25% of the revenue of the New Orleans Opera— and they are constructed to support Louisiana jobs and Louisiana-built productions. For certified Louisiana expenditures, the state offers a 7 percent Tax Creditbetween $100,000 and $300,000. The credit jumps to 14 percent between $300,000 and $1,000,000 and to 18% for certified Louisiana expenditures over $1,000,000. Not-for-profit organizations are issued credits in the form of a "refund of overpayment" by the Louisiana Department of Revenue.More importantly, the credits support local jobs. An additional 7 percent Tax Credit goes to payroll expenditures for Louisiana residents, with even greater incentives for the hiring of students at schools and universities. The public’s (often mistaken) impression is the performing arts Institutions only employ singers, actors, or musicians, yet these incentives have allowed the Opera’s H. Lloyd Hawkins Scenic Studio to hire more than a half a dozen young people each year and train them in skills they vary from electrical repair to carpentry to technical skills. The tax credit support a permanent set building staff of 20, who pack up and reconstruct sets for theatrical productions in 35 states and three Canadian provinces each year. The 30,000 square foot building includes a design studio that has a full carpentry and metal shops, a spacious 80’x80’ paint deck, a stocked prop loft, and a fully equipped sewing room for costumes.Louisiana always hoped to be exporting content with a film tax credits, but we export made-to-order sets and are are paid to re-construct them on stages in other states, thanks to the live performance credits. The profits underwrite the Hawkins studio to construct the theatrical sets for schools, like George Washington Carver, effectively at cost, and the tax credits —in general—allow institutions like the Opera to invite hundreds of school children to watch operas for free as part of the “Schools Night Out” program. Other arts institutions like the LPO and the ballet use the credits to help fund educational outreach, at least in part. Revenue from the tax credits also funds master classes with university students and famous opera singers, as occurred last in Gallier Hall in October with the ...
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54 mins
54 mins
54 mins