March 21, 2014 12:23PM
# Frank Underwood Wants a Subsidy
By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz)
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*House of Cards* is a Netflix television series about a powerful, manipulative politician who gets what he wants with little regard for the public good. Here’s [an example](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/actor-kevin-spacey-to-promote-house-of-cards-tax-credit-at-annapolis-reception/2014/03/19/6dc4c098-afd5-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html):
> “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey is booked to appear in Annapolis on Friday night as the fate of a tax credit that has benefited the production of his Netflix series [hangs in the balance](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/house-of-cards-threatens-to-leave-if-maryland-comes-up-short-on-tax-credits/2014/02/20/bf9a8206-9a70-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html).
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> Gerard E. Evans, an Annapolis-based lobbyist for the show, has invited the entire Maryland General Assembly to a local wine bar to meet the two-time Academy Award winner who plays the scheming Vice President Frank Underwood in the series. An invitation describes the event as “an evening of Annapolis, D.C. and Hollywood.”…
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> The visit is scheduled just a few days after the Senate voted to increase the amount the state can spend next year, to $18.5 million, on a tax credit that rewards movie and television production companies that choose to film in Maryland. “House of Cards” has been the biggest beneficiary in recent years.
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> The House of Delegates has yet to act on the bill, with about two and a half weeks remaining in this year’s [90-day legislative session](http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/local/maryland-general-assembly-status-report-2014/702/) in Maryland. Evans said he has been encouraged by recent meetings with House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D‑Anne Arundel) and other key delegates.
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> A few weeks before the second season of “House of Cards” debuted online, the show’s production company [sent letters to Busch and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/house-of-cards-threatens-to-leave-if-maryland-comes-up-short-on-tax-credits/2014/02/20/bf9a8206-9a70-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html) making clear they could film elsewhere if the debate over the tax credit didn’t end well.
It’s hard to imagine a better example of rent-seeking, crony capitalism, and conspiracy between the rich, the famous, and the powerful against the unorganized taxpayers. A perfect *House of Cards* story.
The Tax Foundation has been covering film tax credits [in general](http://taxfoundation.org/tax-topics/film-credits) and the [*House of Cards* saga](http://taxfoundation.org/blog/maryland-film-tax-credits-house-cards) in particular. The Mackinac Center has been [campaigning](http://www.mackinac.org/features/search/?text=film+tax+credits+) against [Michigan’s film tax credits](http://www.mackinac.org/10662), and Gov. Rick Snyder has tried to [rein in](http://www.freep.com/article/20130217/BUSINESS07/130217011/Film-industry-reels-at-Snyder-s-budget-proposal) the program. But it’s hard to beat Frank Underwood.
##### Related Tags
[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy)
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