The state is looking to bank on the success of the Hawaii-filmed movie and now Golden Globe winner "The Descendants."
But some say that could require an even bigger investment on the state’s part, in the form of larger tax credits.
Lawmakers are working on crafting a bill that’ll give movie and TV productions larger tax credits. It’ll be a little different from the "film tax credit bill" that didn’t get passed last session.
No doubt Hawaii’s lush scenery has served as a perfect backdrop for movies like "Jurassic Park."
Angela Tillson worked on "Jurassic Park," and has scouted locations on Kauai for more than 20 years. "Studios are always looking for the best of everything in their movie but they still have to meet a budget line," said Tillson.
Hawaii has lost many films and TV shows to other countries and states, where the movie studios can get more bang for their buck.
House tourism chair Tom Brower is planning to co-introduce a bill that’ll boost tax credits for movie and TV productions shot in Hawaii.
"Nearly every state has a tax credit for a film production anywhere from 5-35 per cent, so I’m hoping we can increase our tax credit to be more competitive with the other states in the country," said Rep. Brower, "Currently, the motion picture, digital media, and film production tax credit is 15 per cent for money spent on Oahu, and 20 per cent on the neighbor islands. I’d like to see it go to at least 25 percent, maybe 30."
"It would definitely help because I can guarantee we would have more productions coming here with that," said Tillson,
Movie studios can no longer get the "high technology business investment" tax credit, also known as Act 22, because that expired a year ago.
A "film tax bill" stalled in committee last legislative session, but will carry over to the next session.
"Last year it was a tax credit to build a studio. This year I would like to see that alive and also a credit to entice people to come here and film," said Brower.
Brower said the benefits of having more movies and TV shows filmed in our islands far outweigh the money that would be lost by increasing the film tax credit.
"We have such beautiful people and scenery that when the people see it they want to come here," said Brower.
Overall, the goal is to give the movie studios more incentivees, so they’ll spend their millions of dollars here in Hawaii. The 2012 legislative session starts on Wednesday.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
