--- title: 'Trump’s Film Tax Credit Push Gains Newsom and Schiff as Details Stay Open' type: 'blog post' section: 'Industry' format: 'Editorial feature' standfirst: 'The president wants Congress to create a national incentive for film and television production. California’s governor and a senior Democratic senator support the idea, but the percentage, rules and cost remain undecided.' author: 'CinePixo' published: '2026-09-03' updated: '2026-09-03' about_people: - 'Dennis Quaid' tags: - 'Trump federal film tax credit 2026' - 'Newsom Schiff Hollywood production incentive' - 'US film and television tax credit proposal' - 'Jon Voight federal Hollywood tax incentive' - 'California film tax credit $750 million' - 'film production jobs moving overseas' sources: - 'https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/movies/dennis-quaid-applauds-trump-s-calls-for-federal-film-tax-credit-make-american-movies-great-again/ar-AA2brsVz' - 'https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/newsom-schiff-back-trump-push-210042176.html' - 'https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/01/congress-trump-hollywood-tax-credit-01061048' - 'https://www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-federal-tax-film-credit-hollywood-productions-us-renewed-push/507-4e8c60ce-1669-4cb6-b896-9b8b28455585' - 'https://dailyhodl.com/2026/09/01/president-trump-endorses-federal-tax-credits-for-us-film-production/' - 'https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathangoldman/2026/09/01/trump-backs-a-federal-film-and-television-tax-credit/' - 'https://deadline.com/2026/08/trump-supports-federal-film-tv-tax-incentive-1237063602/' - 'https://www.c21media.net/news/trump-calls-for-immediate-action-on-us-federal-production-tax-credit/' canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/blog/trumps-film-tax-credit-push-gains-newsom-and-schiff-as-details-stay-open' publisher: 'CinePixo' --- # Trump’s Film Tax Credit Push Gains Newsom and Schiff as Details Stay Open *The president wants Congress to create a national incentive for film and television production. California’s governor and a senior Democratic senator support the idea, but the percentage, rules and cost remain undecided.* By CinePixo, 2026-09-03 · Industry President Donald Trump’s renewed call for a federal film and television tax credit won support this week from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Adam Schiff, turning a long-running Hollywood demand into a rare Republican-Democratic talking point. Trump made the push in a Truth Social post on Aug. 31, 2026, after meeting actor Jon Voight. Newsom and Schiff backed it within days. For filmmakers, the stakes are practical: a national credit could change where productions hire crews, build sets and spend production money, but Congress has not written the program yet. ## Trump Revives a Proposal Jon Voight Has Pushed Since 2025 Trump described Hollywood as a “Complete and Total Disaster” and said production had moved to Canada and other countries. He argued that the United States lacked a sufficient incentive to keep work at home and called on lawmakers from both parties to move quickly on legislation creating entertainment jobs. C21Media reported that Voight has advocated a federal incentive since Trump appointed him one of three special Hollywood ambassadors in January 2025. Voight formally raised the idea with Trump in May 2025, but no bill followed. Trump also floated tariffs on American productions filmed abroad last year. C21Media noted that the international structure of film and television makes such tariffs difficult to implement. The new proposal is still a framework, not a finished policy. Trump gave no percentage or operating rules. Industry figures have discussed a credit of 15% to 20% for U.S. production labor costs, layered on top of state programs. Deadline reported that some advocates have put the initial figure closer to 25%. ![Dennis Quaid on the red carpet at the Big Screen Achievement Awards at the 2024 CinemaCon at The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/bc5eeaca-531f-4350-ae42-6029b3196b3d.webp) *Photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dennis_Quaid_(53672916016).jpg)* ## Newsom and Schiff Put Bipartisanship on the Record Schiff, a California Democrat and former Trump impeachment manager, said on social media that he was in “strong agreement” with the president. He called for Congress to pass a federal incentive to restore well-paid jobs lost to other countries and urged Republicans and Democrats to work together. Newsom offered a shorter endorsement: “Amen! Let’s make it happen.” Yahoo News reported his support on Sept. 2. Trump then cited Newsom and Schiff when reporters asked about the proposal at the White House, saying he believed it had bipartisan backing. Newsom’s position carries a California complication. Deadline reported that he more than doubled the state’s own film and television credit program to $750 million last year. A post-production incentive had also passed California’s state Senate on Aug. 30 and was headed to Newsom’s desk, while lawmakers considered another measure affecting entertainment credits and a broader tax cap. ![Dennis Quaid on the red carpet at the Big Screen Achievement Awards at the 2024 CinemaCon at The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/be809cfa-4a83-4243-b6cd-369d6d993b73.webp) ![Dennis Quaid and his wife, Laura Savoie, on the red carpet at the Big Screen Achievement Awards at the 2024 CinemaCon at The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/0b90bc87-b963-427a-a99b-be90d041ba52.webp) *Photos: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) · [source 1](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dennis_Quaid_(53672916026).jpg), [source 2](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dennis_Quaid_%26_Laura_Savoie_(53673129963).jpg)* ## The Jobs Argument Comes With Hard Numbers The case for federal action rests on a production exodus that has hit workers, not only studio balance sheets. The Daily Hodl, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported that motion-picture employment in Los Angeles County had fallen to 100,000 from 142,000 in 2022. It attributed the decline mainly to fewer productions. The same report cited ProdPro data showing that the number of U.S. movies and television shows with budgets of at least $40 million that began shooting fell nearly 30% in 2024 compared with 2022. Those figures do not isolate one cause, and the reports do not say a tax credit alone would reverse the decline. They do show why crews and local businesses are pressing for a national response. Canada, the United Kingdom and Hungary offer lower-cost production environments through combinations of currency advantages and public incentives. C21Media specifically pointed to Canada’s federal program and provincial credits as magnets for American projects. A federal U.S. credit would be designed to narrow that gap while existing state programs remain in place. ![Dennis Quaid and his wife, Laura Savoie, on the red carpet at the Big Screen Achievement Awards at the 2024 CinemaCon at The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/624e00bf-4aca-4ad1-949f-f5d00f162cf3.webp) ![Dennis Quaid at the "Cinemoi" 21st Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on February 9, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California - Photo by Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/3686ec0b-b59c-43e7-921e-cc5d0d3b143b.webp) *Photos: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America · [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dennis_Quaid_%26_Laura_Savoie_(53673369520).jpg); Toglenn · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dennis_Quaid_2020_by_Glenn_Francis.jpg)* ## Hollywood’s Lobby Groups Want a Bill, Not Another Promise The Motion Picture Association quickly endorsed Trump’s position. CEO Charles Rivkin said a federal incentive could bring more production to communities in all 50 states, strengthen the economy and make the country more competitive for filmmakers. Deadline reported support from SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, studio executives and industry lobbying groups. That breadth matters because the proposal affects union crews, independent vendors, soundstages and the major studios at once. But the last paragraph of the policy is still missing: who qualifies, which costs count, whether credits are refundable, how much annual spending is allowed and how the Treasury measures a return. Trump said the incentives would be repaid “tenfold” through economic activity, a claim presented as his argument rather than an established estimate. ## Congress Still Has to Turn the Slogan Into Production Policy The unusual alliance has created momentum, not legislation. Schiff and Newsom can supply political cover in California, while Trump can push Republicans who might resist a subsidy for an industry he has often attacked. Rivkin and the guilds can supply a ready-made constituency. The hard fight will be over design. A 15% credit aimed at labor costs would operate differently from a 25% credit stacked on state benefits. Limits could steer money toward large studio pictures, or lawmakers could reserve room for smaller productions and local companies. The material available here does not say which route Congress will choose. For now, the concrete change is that Trump, Newsom and Schiff are publicly aligned behind a first-ever federal production incentive. The next test is whether that alignment produces statutory language before another season of American shoots heads abroad. ## How this piece was made **Format:** Editorial feature ## In this piece - [Dennis Quaid](https://cinepixo.com/people/dennis-quaid) ## Sources - https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/movies/dennis-quaid-applauds-trump-s-calls-for-federal-film-tax-credit-make-american-movies-great-again/ar-AA2brsVz - https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/newsom-schiff-back-trump-push-210042176.html - https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/01/congress-trump-hollywood-tax-credit-01061048 - https://www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-federal-tax-film-credit-hollywood-productions-us-renewed-push/507-4e8c60ce-1669-4cb6-b896-9b8b28455585 - https://dailyhodl.com/2026/09/01/president-trump-endorses-federal-tax-credits-for-us-film-production/ - https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathangoldman/2026/09/01/trump-backs-a-federal-film-and-television-tax-credit/ - https://deadline.com/2026/08/trump-supports-federal-film-tv-tax-incentive-1237063602/ - https://www.c21media.net/news/trump-calls-for-immediate-action-on-us-federal-production-tax-credit/ Every factual claim above is drawn from these. The reading of them is ours. Source: https://cinepixo.com/blog/trumps-film-tax-credit-push-gains-newsom-and-schiff-as-details-stay-open Written for CinePixo. Nothing on this page is imported prose.