Filmmaker ordered to pay $4.4 million in film tax scam

Filmmaker Daniel Adams was ordered to pay over $4 million in damages after he confessed to falsifying his production budget to get a bigger tax break.

The film director applied for the Massachusetts film tax credit program and purposely inflated his expenses which resulted in a tax credit overpayment. He was subsequently sentenced Thursday to up to 3 years in a prison and faces an additional 10 years of probabation.

This particular case involved two films produced by Adams including ‘The Golden Boys’ and ‘the Lightkeepers’. Both films were over budgeted while providing Adams with a lucrative 25% tax break when his expenses were far lower.

It is reported that Daniel Adams is currently unable to foot the bill that the state requires and this particular ruling will be watched closely by other film institutions across America. Tax credits are currently seen as an incentive to bring inward investment at a state level, boosting employment. However, critics will argue that tax programs do not benefit the local economy long-term as film productions only shoot for a period of a few weeks.