“Ballers” Bugged By Taxes, Zika — Threatens To Skip Town!

The Miami-based hit HBO series Ballers starring Southwest Ranches‘ Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is considering leaving the city because of two major annoyances — mosquitoes carrying Zika, and pesky taxes!

In 2014, we’re told the show received $6.7 million in local tax credits. That’s money your schools and roads will never see!

So, when state officials voted against giving the entertainment industry millions in tax incentives for their on-location shoots and ended their subsidies, the show’s producers, including executive producer Mark Wahlberg, started thinking about taking their toys and going somewhere else to play.

HBO executives have not yet made a decision on whether or not to stay in Miami, but it’s likely the characters will remain in South Florida, even if the shots have to be created somewhere else.

“It’s tragic that the state doesn’t support the entertainment industry the way it supports tourism. We used to be the third biggest production center in the U.S.,” Maria Chavez, who has managed TV and film shoots in South Florida since Miami Vice, told the Miami Herald. 

And then there’s the mosquito issue. Producers have also voiced their concerns about the Miami Beach Zika outbreak and the new cases of Dengue fever.

Taxes and mosquitoes, both pack quite a sting!

Ballers centers around a former Miami Dolphins player (The Rock) and his second career as a money manager for athletes. Scenes have been shot all over Miami and South Beach.