--- title: 'Trump Backs a Federal Film Tax Break Hollywood Has Chased for Years' type: 'blog post' section: 'Industry' format: 'Editorial feature' standfirst: 'Trump’s new push for a nationwide production incentive gives Hollywood’s tax-credit lobby a rare opening. The fight now is less about whether the industry needs help than who gets to sell the plan, and on what terms.' author: 'CinePixo' published: '2026-09-01' updated: '2026-09-01' about_people: - 'Jon Voight' tags: - 'Trump federal film tax credit' - 'Hollywood production tax incentive Congress' - 'Jon Voight Trump Hollywood tax break' - 'Adam Schiff national film credit' - 'US film and TV production relocation' sources: - 'https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-calls-on-congress-to-pass-federal-production-tax-incentive-after-meeting-with-jon-voight/ar-AA2biiZV' - 'https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/trump-urges-congress-to-pass-federal-tax-incentives-to-revive-us-film-tv-industry-article-14019363.html' - 'https://nypost.com/2026/08/31/us-news/trump-calls-on-congress-to-save-hollywood-with-federal-tax-breaks/' - 'https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/can-hollywood-sell-congress-trump-on-federal-film-tax-credit/' canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/blog/trump-backs-a-federal-film-tax-break-hollywood-has-chased-for-years' publisher: 'CinePixo' --- # Trump Backs a Federal Film Tax Break Hollywood Has Chased for Years *Trump’s new push for a nationwide production incentive gives Hollywood’s tax-credit lobby a rare opening. The fight now is less about whether the industry needs help than who gets to sell the plan, and on what terms.* By CinePixo, 2026-09-01 · Industry On Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, President Trump called on Congress to approve a federal production incentive for film and television, backing a nationwide tax break after meeting with Jon Voight. The New York Post reported that Trump urged Republicans and Democrats to work together to save the movie, television and entertainment business in America. For film readers, this matters because the question is no longer just where studios choose to shoot. It is where the labor, spending and leverage behind those choices will land if Washington decides to act. ## Trump’s New Pitch for Hollywood Trump’s post on Truth Social was blunt. He said Congress should approve a federal production incentive to create entertainment jobs in America, and he framed the issue as one of national decline rather than niche industry policy. The New York Post reported that he tied the push to a meeting with Voight, whom he called his Hollywood ambassador. That is a sharp turn from the tariff talk Trump floated last year. TheWrap reported that after Voight and producer Steven Paul visited the White House in May 2025, Trump threatened tariffs on productions shot outside the United States. The White House later walked that back, and Trump raised the idea again in a January interview with the California Post, this time pairing tariffs with low-interest bonds for the film business. Now the message is different. The tool on the table is a tax break, not a penalty. ![Sean McNamara, director of“Reagan”, poses for a photo with Sailors in the hangar bay onboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), Naval Base Kitsap, in Bremerton, Washington, Aug. 26, 2024. McNamara, and actor Jon Voight participated in a panel discussion on the upcoming featur…](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/a8860ac9-6f39-4c2b-b925-3b188fec0c6b.webp) *Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Estrada-Eguizabal · Public domain · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Ronald_Reagan_(CVN76)_hosts_Jon_Voight_and_Sean_McNamara_(11).jpg)* ## Jon Voight, Adam Schiff, and an Odd Coalition The cast behind this push is stranger than the usual Hollywood lobby lineup. Trump appointed Voight, along with Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, as special ambassadors to Hollywood. Voight has been pushing the administration for a federal production credit as more movies and television shows move outside the country. TheWrap reported that this has put Voight in the same lane as Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff, who has been pushing his own version of a national incentive and held a Senate hearing on runaway production in March. Last year, Schiff circulated a proposal for a 15% federal credit on qualifying labor expenses for productions made in the U.S., while Reuters reported that Steven Paul and SP Media Group president Scott Karol proposed a 20% labor credit. That is the real twist here. Trump, Voight and Schiff do not agree on much. They do agree that the current system leaves too many jobs on the table. ![Jon Voight addressing the Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/b7d8e24b-4302-4b03-8155-d55d48c5447d.webp) ![Jon Voight (22811479478)](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/81d048d6-69f1-44cd-aff8-5b38b3b3c37e.webp) *Photos: James McNellis from Washington, DC, United States · [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jon_Voight_addressing_the_Make_America_Great_Again!_Welcome_Celebration_(32107882890).jpg); Greg2600 · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jon_Voight_(22811479478).jpg)* ## Why Hollywood Wants a Federal Credit TheWrap laid out the problem in plain terms. Production incentives exist in 39 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, but the only federal aid American productions can use is Section 181, a Bush-era provision that lets studios deduct up to the first $15 million in spending, or $20 million for shoots in low-income areas. That is not much help when other countries offer national credits on top of local ones. The U.K. goes further, TheWrap reported, by letting productions count above-the-line salaries such as actors and directors toward the national credit. Productions with a U.K. partner can also get additional rebate payments after release to cover back-end deals. California, New York and New Jersey have raised their own program caps, but states can only do so much. The numbers from Georgia tell the story. TheWrap reported that production in the state fell from 412 projects in 2022 to 245 in 2025. Disney and Marvel Studios moved the next two Avengers films to the U.K. after earlier installments, including Avengers: Endgame, were filmed at Trilith Studios outside Atlanta. That is the pressure the industry keeps talking about. The work leaves, then the crews, then the spending follows it. ![Jon Voight presented Melanie Griffith with the Timeless Beauty Award at the 2nd Hollywood Beauty Awards](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/38348b66-aaab-4459-82ca-e7bf073a44a1.webp) ![Jon Voight Steven Bauer Patrick Millsaps Linda Hall and Pooch Hall celebrating Voight's birthday](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/65cda37d-b7ed-41a5-9400-4c31a2be58d4.webp) *Photos: Pamela Price · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jon_Voight_HBA_Timeless_Beauty_Award_recipient_Melanie_Griffith_cropppe.jpg); HollywoodReporter3 · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jon_Voight_Steven_Bauer_Patrick_Millsaps_Linda_Hall_and_Pooch_Hall_celebrating_Voight%27s_birthday.jpg)* ## California Wants the Credit, But Not the Whole Message There is support for the idea in California, but not everyone wants the pitch to sound like a favor to one state. TheWrap reported that Schiff, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Laura Friedman have all urged Congress to pass a tax credit as California tries to stay competitive as a production hub. Still, two lobbyists told TheWrap, on condition of anonymity, that they want California’s delegation to take a back seat if the bill starts moving. Trump told the California Post that he wants to bring the movie business back to Los Angeles in particular, but some industry advocates worry that would make the effort look like a handout to liberal states instead of a national jobs bill. Chris Fenton has been selling the broader version of the argument. TheWrap reported that the producer, whose upcoming indie comedy Bad Counselors employed about 1,200 workers in North Carolina, Tennessee and California, has used Fox News and an upcoming interview with Lara Trump to push the case for a federal credit. He told TheWrap that the only way to get studios shooting in the U.S. again is to get Trump on board and to show work outside the coastal hubs. ## The Timing Still Matters The last piece is timing. Fenton and IATSE legislative director Tyler McIntosh both think there may still be a path this year. McIntosh told TheWrap that lawmakers sometimes rush bills after the midterms and before the holidays, especially if they expect a split Congress, and that a tax extenders package at the end of 2026 could be one vehicle. Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin praised Trump’s support to Variety and said the group would keep working with the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress to get a meaningful national incentive into law. That is where this now sits: a rare point of agreement, a messy coalition, and a legislative calendar that may decide whether Hollywood gets a federal credit or another round of speeches about one. ## How this piece was made **Format:** Editorial feature ## In this piece - [Jon Voight](https://cinepixo.com/people/jon-voight) ## Sources - https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-calls-on-congress-to-pass-federal-production-tax-incentive-after-meeting-with-jon-voight/ar-AA2biiZV - https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/trump-urges-congress-to-pass-federal-tax-incentives-to-revive-us-film-tv-industry-article-14019363.html - https://nypost.com/2026/08/31/us-news/trump-calls-on-congress-to-save-hollywood-with-federal-tax-breaks/ - https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/can-hollywood-sell-congress-trump-on-federal-film-tax-credit/ Every factual claim above is drawn from these. The reading of them is ours. Source: https://cinepixo.com/blog/trump-backs-a-federal-film-tax-break-hollywood-has-chased-for-years Written for CinePixo. Nothing on this page is imported prose.