Is Gov. Gavin Newsom right to throw a lifeline to Hollywood studios with new tax credits to help keep filming in state, or is that unfair to taxpayers and other businesses?

That’s our Question of the Week for readers.

Newsom came to Hollywood on Sunday to unveil his proposal to more than double the tax credit the state offers to producers of films and TV shows that shoot in California.

The governor is promoting a plan to boost the annual tax credit from the $330 million cap it has now to $750 million. That would be the largest amount offered by any state except Georgia, which has no cap on its credits — and which has without a doubt been “stealing” a lot of TV and movie production, which is thriving in Atlanta. Canada has also seen a large increase in filming that would formerly have taken place locally.

The Legislature would need to approve his plan, which could take effect by next July.

“We wanted to reconcile the stress that’s been building up here for, frankly, the better part of a decade,” Newsom said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic and the crippling writers and actors strikes of 2023, as City News Service reports.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass noted that she worked on California’s original film tax credit policy in 2009 when she was speaker of the state Assembly. “We have to do everything we can to strengthen and protect one of the foundational blocks of our economy in Los Angeles,” she said.

Here in Southern California, many of our friends and neighbors work in the entertainment industry, created locally at the beginning of the last century. They have been affected by the production downturn — especially the many workers behind the scenes who provide meals, security, sets and transit on Hollywood shoots.

But critics point out that this is yet another case of of government putting its thumb on the scales to favor one industry over others. The state budget would take a big hit from revenues not received from the studios, with the rest of us getting no such tax break. So — are you for or against the proposal?

Email your thoughts to opinion@scng.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number.