New tax credit bill for filmmakers goes to joint review by committee

Legislation that could attract film production companies -- and the dollars they bring with them -- came closer to becoming law Thursday.

The Missouri Film Production Tax Credit bill was passed by the Senate on Thursday and is headed to a joint House and Senate committee for review.

The bill, which is now attached to a House bill addressing new jobs and training programs, recommends increasing current tax credits of up to $1.5 million to $10.5 million for each qualified film project that comes to Missouri and to deduct up to 35 percent of the project's overall production cost.

Mark M. Biggs, who chairs the Missouri Film Commission and supports the legislation, said Missouri earned about $3.5 million in 2006 from four film companies that took advantage of the state's current tax incentive program.

"My sense is if the legislation passes and we have the full $10.5 million to distribute, about $25 to $30 million could be spent by filmmakers to acquire the tax credit," he said.

Jerry Jones, executive director of the Missouri Film Commission, said the commission actively seeks to bring filmmakers to the state for economic purposes. Qualified film companies as described in the legislation includes any film, video, commercial or television production as approved by the commission and the Missouri Department of Economic Development with an expected in-state expenditure budget of more than $100,000, he said.

Biggs said 36 states are aggressively using tax credits or rebates to get filmmakers' dollars. Missouri is on the lower end of the tax incentive scale.

Today's lawmakers are in stark contrast to those who in 1999 put Missouri on the map with being one of the first states in the union to offer a $1 million tax incentive to filmmakers to work here.

"At that point Missouri was way ahead of the game," he said. "It was one of the first states to capture those dollars that were then going to Canada."

Today the market is a global one, he said, and Missouri has fallen behind in competing for those dollars.

"Illinois just passed an enormous incentive package last year," he said. "Most states have no caps whatsoever."

Biggs said the benefits go farther than temporary economic spikes in a locality when a filmmaker comes to town.

"There's a ripple effect through other areas in the economy," he said.

Jobs are created and support industries develop, he said. Tourism increases in states that have movie sites and people tend to spend more when they visit, he said.

carel@semissourian.com

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