Rep. Kathy Swan seeks to set scene for new film and TV production in Missouri

State Rep. Kathy Swan wants to set the scene for new film and television production in Missouri.

She is sponsoring a bill, the Show Missouri Film and Digital Media Act, to provide tax credits for film production projects. A tax credit is a type of tax incentive that can reduce the amount of money a taxpayer owes the government.

The Cape Girardeau Republican has been pushing the idea of a film tax credit for several years, but without success.

This time, she hopes her fellow lawmakers will embrace the legislative script, which she and other supporters believe will pay economic dividends.

Missouri previously offered such tax credits, but that law expired in 2013.

Some state lawmakers over the years have objected to tax credits, arguing it leads to lower tax revenue for everything from education to senior services.

Former state Sen. Jason Crowell has been a vocal opponent of the tax-credit system. Tax credits are not part of the legislative appropriation process, but should be, Crowell and others have said.

In written comments to the Southeast Missourian in 2010, Crowell lamented the system provides special interest groups "a way to use backroom politics to funnel money toward controversial projects that would never be approved by the General Assembly."

Swan has pushed for lawmakers to take budgetary control of all state tax credits even as she pushes for implementing a new film tax credit.

'Missed out'

Since the film tax-credit program ended, the state has "missed out" on 10 studio projects, amounting to at least $150 million in lost economic impact, Swan said Thursday.

A number of popular films and television series set in Missouri were filmed in other states.

They include HBO's "Sharp Objects," the movie "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," and the Netflix series "Ozark." The first was filmed in California and Georgia, the second in North Carolina, and the third mostly in Georgia.

HBO's decision to film "Sharp Objects" in Georgia was in part due to the state's offerings, a company spokeswoman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in July.

"Gone Girl," a movie filmed partly in Cape Girardeau, was the last major production in Missouri to take advantage of the tax-credit program before it expired, according to Joni Tackette, president of Missouri Motion Media Association.

Twentieth Century Fox spent some $7.8 million in Cape Girardeau filming "Gone Girl" in the fall of 2013, according to the Missouri Motion Media Association.

Tackette said that included $600,000 in lodging and office space alone.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars also were spent on transportation, security, furniture and props, building supplies and catering services.

Without the tax credits, "Gone Girl" would not have been filmed in Missouri, according to Swan.

Since the tax-credit program ended, Missouri has experienced lost opportunities for filming not only big-screen movies, but also television series in the state, she said.

According to Tackette, 35 states and territories offer financial incentives to filmmakers.

Without a tax credit, Missouri can't draw filmmakers to the state, she said.

The surrounding states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky and Illinois offer incentives, Tackette said.

Shuttered programs

But according to the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL), several states have cut their film incentives since 2009.

In 2009, according to the council, 44 states offered some kind of package to film studios. Since then, several states -- including Missouri -- have shuttered their programs, the council said on its website.

In 2018, only 31 states, Washington, D.C., and several territories maintained film incentive programs, the NCSL said, and several of these states are tightening the requirements for qualifying expenses and reeling in per-project and annual program caps.

"Most states' policymakers walk a fine line and try to balance film production incentives in ways that limit forgone revenue, yet still reduce the chances of losing the state's film industry to competing incentive programs," the NCSL stated.

Tackette and Swan said Missouri's proposed program would provide about $4.5 million annually in tax credits, a limit the state previously adhered to when it offered a film tax credit.

But it would be up to the Missouri Department of Economic Development whether to grant tax credits for any particular production, they said.

Tackette said there are a growing number of television channels and platforms that are producing content. Among them are Netflix, HBO and FX, according to the Missouri Motion Media Assocation's website.

Many movie and television-series are being filmed in Georgia, which offers financial incentives for such productions, Tackette said.

Unlike Swan's measure, Georgia does not cap its film tax credits.

Tackette said offering tax credits politically can be "one of the most volatile issues." But she said Swan's bill would provide only a modest tax-credit program.

"We will not be able to become a Georgia overnight," she said.

Sunset provision

Swan's bill calls for tax credits to be offered, beginning on Jan. 2, 2020. The tax-credit program would sunset at the end of six years unless renewed by lawmakers.

If renewed, the law would sunset after another 12 years.

The legislation authorizes a tax credit of 20 percent for certain in-state expenses and 10 percent for expenses associated with some out-of-state personnel brought into Missouri to work on a film.

An additional 5 percent tax credit could be provided when at least 50 percent of the movie or television series is filmed in Missouri.

An identical bill has been filed in the Missouri Senate.

While efforts to pass a film tax credit have failed in recent years, Tackette said she is hopeful this time will be different.

She said one positive step is Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe earlier this legislative session recommended lawmakers resurrect the tax-credit program.

Swan's bill was heard in the House economic development committee earlier this week. While the committee has yet to vote out the bill, Swan said, "it was a very positive hearing."

She said no one testified in opposition to the bill.

Both Swan and Tackette said Missouri has a film industry that would benefit from movies and television series being shot in the state.

The film and commercial production industry employs more than 11,000 professionals in Missouri, they said. There also are 38 film and digital media programs offered in Missouri's colleges and universities.

Filming of movies and television series in Missouri could also boost tourism, drawing visitors to see the sites where movies were made, Swan said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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