By Kamaiyah Lineberger
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Local filmmakers are relieved the General Assembly turned aside a proposal to end the state’s film tax credit, but they said they would like to see more public investments designed to make Maryland more attractive for movie and TV show producers.
Representatives of the state’s film industry also said that Maryland is a good place to make films because there is more room for creative productions than in more competitive markets like New York and California.
“We have an incredible crew base that wants to stay local,” said Mark Burchick, an adjunct professor in Towson University’s Department of Electronic Media and Film. “We have five or six different universities here that all have some sort of film television program, Towson being the largest in the state.”
The Department of Legislative Services, a nonpartisan agency that provides support to the General Assembly, issued a report in December 2025 recommending that the state allow the Maryland Film Production Activity Tax Credit to expire in June 2026. The program provides a 28% to 30% tax credit for qualifying companies making films in the state.
The agency said its analysis showed that the tax credit program is “unlikely to generate lasting economic development in the state and likely has a net negative impact” on government finances. Instead, the department said the state should focus on programs that would “generate lasting economic development.”
The proposal, which was opposed by Maryland filmmakers and the screen actor’s union in Los Angeles, was not included in any bills passed by the General Assembly during the legislative session that ended last month.
The DECADE act, proposed by Gov. Wes Moore in January, included a plan to eliminate the $10 million production cap in Maryland and allow for larger films to come to the state.
After being passed in the House, it went to the Senate where an idea of raising the cap to $30 million was proposed and passed, according to Steve Saada, freelance sound mixer and vice president of local studio mechanic and broadcast technician union, IATSE 487.
The bill then went back to the House. Due to the representatives not being able to reach an agreement on most of the proposed legislation in session, they made the decision in April to just leave the tax credit cap at $10 million.
Burchick said the tax credit not expiring is a step in the right direction, but he added that there’s still more work to be done to make filming in Maryland even more successful.
In addition to keeping the tax credit, Burchick said the building of more infrastructure is the key to a bright future of filmmaking in Maryland.
Burchick, a Towson EMF alum, said when he graduated in 2014, he was able to pay off his student loans by freelancing on sets in Maryland. Now, this degree of success is almost unheard of, Burchick said.
Imani Muleyyar, the founder and CEO of Baltimore Cinematic Universe and another Towson EMF alum, said that offering more incentives for filming in Maryland will result in more job opportunities.
Maryland’s film economy hasn’t been successful for a while, Burchick said. He believes this is due to the pandemic and back-to-back strikes in the industry.
According to Burchick, the recommendation to sunset the tax credit program this year was a result of legislators being ill informed of how beneficial the program is to the state.
Eric Cotton, president of the Baltimore Filmmaker’s Collective and Minds Eye Cinema, said the proposal to end the film tax credit is part of a pattern where governments are more willing to help large companies at the expense of others.
“We can always find a way to somehow pay tax breaks for corporations on a city, state and federal level,” Cotton said. “But when it comes to tax benefits for individuals, small businesses or art-related communities, it’s always a first budget cut mindset.”
The goal of Maryland film lobbyists is to get legislators to see that by having productions in Maryland and keeping tax credit programs, money will trickle down and benefit Maryland’s economy, Burchick said.
According to the 2018 Maryland Film Production Activity Tax Credit Annual Report, Maryland gained $3.69 in economic output for every $1 claimed under the current program.
“The groundswell of economic flow is impressive,” Cotton said. “That should be talked about more. We have to change the public perception of the benefit of the film community to the larger community.”
Burchick said that to compete with film industries in places like New Jersey and Atlanta, Maryland needs to build permanent infrastructure like studios, soundstages and rental houses.
Melissa Houghton, the executive director of Women of Film and Video, said that filmmakers in Maryland and DC should look at their current film economies as an opportunity for independence.
“The [big Hollywood] studios are not particularly telling interesting stories. Independent filmmakers are,” Houghton said.
Filmmakers in Maryland and DC state that having a film career in this smaller market allows for more freedoms than in a more competitive market.
“New York has a very cliquish mentality,” Cotton said. “You have the Brooklyn bunch, and you have communities that are very sort of self-focused. In Baltimore, we tend to be more open to serving the greater community, as opposed to California … where everybody is a star.”
“You get to experiment and figure out how you want to tell the stories you want to tell,” Houghton said. And you’re going to fail once or twice. Nobody here cares if you fail. They just want to see what you do next. You don’t get that chance if you go on set in LA.”