Film Produced by Travis Kelce To Benefit From Green Energy Tax Credits
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 apportioned billions of dollars for green energy tax credits while also allowing them to be sold to other taxpayers.
In addition to winning a second consecutive Super Bowl, dating Taylor Swift, and receiving glowing reviews as a Saturday Night Live host, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is adding "Hollywood producer" to his résumé. Unfortunately, American taxpayers will be helping him out on that one.
Kelce is an executive producer of My Dead Friend Zoe, a dark comedy film that he helped fund, which premieres in March at South by Southwest. But Variety reports that the film, produced for less than $10 million, will also benefit from federal tax credits designed to incentivize the production of clean, renewable energy.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, President Joe Biden's signature piece of legislation, spent billions of dollars on tax credits to encourage the development and adoption of clean energy technology.
Under the provisions of the law, green energy tax credits are "transferable," allowing a recipient with little or no federal income tax liability to "transfer" the credit to someone else. "Essentially, this enables renewable project owners and developers to sell tax credits for cash and simplifies financing for clean energy projects," writes Rachel Chang at the Center for American Progress.
My Dead Friend Zoe is a production of Radiant Media Studios, whose co-founder Mike Field is an investor in green energy projects. According to Variety, Field sold green energy tax credits to raise cash for the film.
"Hollywood is risky, right? On a scale of one to 10, Hollywood, it is a 9.5," Radiant co-founder Ray Maiello told Variety. "These federal tax credits take the risk down to like a five."
The outlet notes that while My Dead Friend Zoe will be the first motion picture to take advantage of a credit transfer, the concept of selling green tax credits is already common in the business world: A study released in January found that in the first half of 2023, green energy firms sold between $7 billion and $9 billion worth of green tax credits to other companies.
"Biden saw that people can't plan what their tax liabilities are going to be," Maiello added. "People don't want to take risks. And so he really opened it up with these federal tax credits and we're combining that with Hollywood."
But risk is an inherent part of the process, whether in starting a business or making a movie. What Biden has actually done is offload a portion of that risk to the American taxpayer, who will now be on the hook for a portion of the film alongside its financiers.