By Jonathan Turner, The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus

By Jonathan Turner, jturner@qconline.com
It appears both candidates for Iowa governor oppose reinstating tax incentives for film and television production in the state.

In March, Iowa lawmakers voted to suspend the film tax-credit program until July 2013.

Gov. Chet Culver first suspended the program in September 2009.The Democrat -- facing a tough re-election campaign against former GOP Gov. Terry Branstad -- suggested in a press conference this week that jobs created by film and TV productions weren't the kind of "permanent" jobs Iowa needs.

"Unfortunately, with respect to the film program, people exploited it. They took advantage of it. I've had enough of that," Gov. Culver said. "And we need to target our state resources in a way that helps create long-term jobs."

A bipartisan Tax Credit Review Panel, appointed by the governor after revelations last fall of misconduct in the program, recommended the state eliminate eight tax credits completely, including the film credit.

Mr. Branstad told the Des Moines Register last month that it was "pretty obvious that the film tax credit was not one that really meets the test," he said of worthwhile tax incentives. "We want to create permanent jobs, and we want jobs that will help us build a stronger and more successful economy in Iowa."

"It's unfortunate, because all the momentum you've built over the three years has just evaporated," Kelly Rundle, a Moline-based documentary filmmaker, said Wednesday of the Iowa suspension.

"There is a real misconception about what is a permanent job," he said of film and TV work. "I'm sure (the politicians) don't feel that way about construction jobs or a plumber that goes from one house to another."

He said whoever wins the Iowa election in November will have to consider restarting the tax credits "in a modified form, partially because surrounding states do offer it, to help attract jobs."

"We're still hopeful; we're trying to work for getting the program reinstated," Tammy Shutters, Iowa Motion Picture Association program director, said Wednesday.

Without the incentives, "You're off the radar screen, and they won't even consider you," said Doug Miller, founding president of IMPA, one of the architects of the tax credit and head of Motion Pictures Midwest in Davenport.

Illinois offers film tax credits equal to 30 percent of production spending and 30 percent of salaries for Illinois residents, but most film and TV production is in the Chicago area.

"We have a project in the works, a narrative feature we intended to shoot in Iowa, but we would now have to look at the possibility of shooting it in Illinois, where they do have a film incentive program that's active," Mr. Rundle said.

"We wouldn't have to consider it if we had more resources, but we already are scraping for every penny," he said. "It's something we do plan to shoot in the Quad-Cities area."







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Jonathan Turner
Arts/entertainment reporter
The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus