Final Words

I doubt I will be writing any more blogs or comments about the frozen Iowa film tax credits and the circumstances around them simply because I've said all I have to say about them. Unless something new surfaces from either the film trials or during the next legislative session, I have nothing to add.

I do need to clarify that I am not necessarily totally opposed to film incentives whether they be subsidies or tax rebates. I just think they should be straight forward and understandable to the average Iowa taxpayer with no smoke and mirrors to disguise how they actually work.

I'm sure there are a few people out there who have been wanting me to shut up about this issue, either because they are responsible for how the bill got written or because they think that bringing this issue up will harm the progress of restarting the Iowa Film Office. They will get their wish but this issue shouldn't be totally swept under the rug, because it could cause trouble again if it is ignored. I am surprised that they haven't made their objections known or have made any attempt to correct anything they have issue with. But that is their choice.

I suspect if nothing is done to replace the film tax credits, the legislature will either kill it outright or remove life support so that they can't be used. That is why I make the proposal that they consider making it an actual tax credit - that is, a refund on sales taxes. I think this might make it more palatable to the legislators and give a place for a fresh start with room for upward growth. With the state putting off things like roads and bridges and making cuts to education, I doubt they are going to be too excited to returning to the 50% subsidy they were offering.

We definitely need the Iowa Film Office back no matter what happens and I encourage you to continue sending messages to the governor to encourage that. I do think we need some sort of incentives to encourage producers to shoot in Iowa because without one Iowa is going to be a tough sell. Even if a film does come here, without some sort of incentive producers will not have an incentive (there's that word again) to hire Iowa cast and crew, except for the smallest of jobs.

That's all, unless something new comes up.