It’s official: Howard’s coming to the city, and Jimmy’s not far behind. And guess who’ll be paying for their “trouble”?
Right: you — Joe and Jane Taxpayer.
The kicker: “America’s Got Talent,” with star judge Howard Stern, and “The Tonight Show,” soon to be hosted by Jimmy Fallon, both probably would have come for free.
Any wonder why New York tops most other states when it comes to high taxes?
Fact is, even as Albany claims it’s strapped for cash, it’s alloting nearly a half-billion bucks to give to film and TV productions, many of which might well operate here without the bribe.
The handouts provide movie- and TV-show makers a tax credit covering 30 percent of production costs. “America’s Got Talent” will get its cash as part of its decision to quit Newark in favor of Radio City Music Hall.
Yet the show reportedly was likely to move to the city anyway, after Stern griped about having to commute to Newark.
Meanwhile, last month, the credit — recently expanded to cover talk and variety shows — was seen as a sweetener to bring “The Tonight Show” back East when Fallon replaces host Jay Leno, a switch formally announced yesterday. Yet that show, too, might have come without a vigorish.
Why does Albany hand out the cash? The shows bring jobs, it claims. But such thinking couldn’t be more wrong-headed. If the state really wants to attract businesses and jobs, it would lower taxes generally and ease regulations for all players — not just the glamorous ones or those with political ties. Especially when they don’t need it.