Maryland's film production credits are not, properly speaking, tax credits, at least not in the sense that they are a reduction in the amount of state taxes film production companies pay. They are more akin to a direct subsidy to offset up to 27 percent of the companies' Maryland wages and other expenses. They also have little to no lasting effect. As DLS notes, the film industry is highly mobile and has proven itself adept at skipping from one state to the next depending on who's offering the best incentives. In fact, "House of Cards" threatened to do just that this spring when Maryland legislators balked at offering the full $15 million the show had applied for to film its third season here. Ultimately, Gov. Martin O'Malley worked out a deal with the show's producers that kept them here at the bargain price of $11.5 million.