Welcome to The Headway Project

The Headway Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank and issues advocacy firm based in Los Angeles and devoted to promoting progressive public policy issues in California and throughout the nation. The five pillars of the project are 1) promotion of small business, 2) fiscal responsibility in government, 3) protection and promotion of civil rights, 4) protection and promotion of consumer rights and 5) the development of long-term sustainable clean energy.

For 2012, however, The Headway Project’s sole focus will be to author a series of small reports focused on opportunities to create jobs in individual business sectors in California. Each report will be co-authored by a nonpartisan panel of experts from both the public and private sector and will address all issues relevant to the business health of that sector, including analysis of state and local tax policies, labor regulations, environmental regulations and other areas where government impacts small business, for good and ill. It will also address the non-governmental environment in California: labor costs, unions, healthcare costs, access to capital and much more. Each report will provide data and analysis of the sector and provide prescriptive advice designed to make California a great place for entrepreneurs and businesspeople to thrive again.

Analysis of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program.

The report on this page represents the first of such reports, and is an analysis of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. It found that this relatively new tax credit (2009) is creating jobs, economic activity and tax revenues in California, and is having some influence in convincing film and television producers to once again shoot their projects in California. Our report also offers ideas and recommendations designed to make California’s program more effective and efficient.