News14.com

  45º

07/22/2010 05:38 PM

Governor signs incentives, jobs bill

By: Loretta Boniti

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RALEIGH -- Governor Bev Perdue says she hopes to see more businesses like Epic Games in Cary. This company is part of the growing world of video gaming. Now, under a bill she signed into to law Thursday, the state is actively luring this industry into the state.

“We've got such a great opportunity here in the Research Triangle and in North Carolina,” says Michael Capp, the president of Epic Games. “We've got a nascent hub of game development, we've got an excellent hub of military simulation modeling, great education. We could be the worldwide hub for video game development and digital media development.”

This law is not limited to the gaming world. It includes several provisions in several areas to encourage jobs and job growth in the state.

“There's one thing that you've heard from us this year with the work of the general assembly and me,” said Perdue. “It's that jobs is the number one priority for us in North Carolina.”

Part of this law is aimed at attracting the film industry to North Carolina. To help do this, incentives are offered for up to 25 percent of a production company's qualifying expenses, but that tax break is not to be bigger than $20 million. One thing that won't count toward the film's cost is any actor's salary that is beyond the first million dollars. Perdue says that limited salary provision could end up costing the state.

“I believe in this next Sparks movie we can be competitive, probably as competitive as Georgia,” she says. “I'm not sure Louisiana, but we've really got to keep working on the salary cap."

Perdue says she plans to go back to the general assembly again next year, and ask them again to work on increasing the film industry incentives in hopes of removing that cap.