A revised state tax rebate system for film, television and documentary production could be revived on a trial basis after a 15-year hiatus.
Republican Rep. Bobby Kaufman, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is proposing a bill that would create a two-year, $10 million pilot project that would provide a 30% tax rebate on eligible expenses.
“I was convinced when I saw movies that were supposed to be shot here being sent to other states and other countries,” Kaufman told Radio Iowa.
Iowa’s previous tax incentives for television and film production were suspended in 2009 after auditors found that a large portion of the tax credits had been misused. Iowa is currently one of 13 states that do not offer tax incentives for film and television production.
Todd Rognes, chief administrative officer of Lenovo Media Group in Clear Lake, told lawmakers today that Lenovo recently helped produce a film with some of the script set in Iowa. , Hollywood decision makers said they chose to film in Kentucky. Film producer.
“The states around Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri all have credits,” Rogness said. “Nebraska just introduced a credit program.”
Rognes said the film “Wildcat,” starring Liam Niesen and Laura Linney, which will be released in May, received a $2 million incentive from the state of Kentucky. “So in the end we had to make the decision to not do it in Iowa and bring it to Kentucky, so there’s a scene in the movie where the main character is walking through a park in Iowa City, and We shot it in Louisville. There’s a scene where one of the main characters is in a classroom in Iowa, and we shot it in Louisville,” Rogness said. “I wanted to do it here.”
Des Moines native Lisa Krunick recently joined Renovo as president after 17 years in Hollywood, where she helped develop and produce hit films such as “Clifford, the Big Red Dog” and “The Smurfs.”
“I’ve been working at Renovo for the last four or five months, and you know, we have all the relationships and experience and everything to bring a really high-level film here.” she said. She begins with a question from a producer: “What’s the incentive for your movie?”
Krunick told lawmakers that another movie he wanted to shoot in Iowa will likely be shot in Ireland because of incentives for the country’s filmmakers.
“The other movie we’re considering, ‘The Great Nothing,’ is scheduled to shoot in the fall, and we’d love to do this rebate and bring it to Iowa, but the producers… is saying, ‘We do.’ We’re happy to be filming this in Iowa.”It’s a really heartfelt family movie that Ryan Gosling is currently considering producing and starring in,” Krunick said. Told.
Krunick and Rognes made their comments during a public presentation to members of the House Ways and Means Committee earlier today.
