Written by new-contact on Jun 28, 2011. Posted in On Location

Kansas re-launches filming incentive following suspension of two years

Kansas has re-launched its filming incentive after it was suspended for two years to reduce public spending. Eligible projects can claim a 30% non-refundable, non-transferable tax credit on their Kansas production spend, and the scheme applies to features, commercials and TV shows.

Suspending the scheme in Kansas won the praise of the Tax Foundation, which remains sceptical about the extent to which states truly benefit from offering tax breaks to audiovisual productions. This attitude seems to be spreading across the US, with Michigan a high-profile example of a state in the process of dramatically rolling back a generous incentive scheme.

States claim these incentives create jobs, but the jobs created are mostly temporary positions, often transplanted from other states.

The Tax Foundation

The Tax Foundation outlined its position in a recent report: “Film tax credits fail to live up to their promises to encourage economic growth overall and to raise tax revenue. States claim these incentives create jobs, but the jobs created are mostly temporary positions, often transplanted from other states. Furthermore, the competition among states transfers a large portion of potential gains to the movie industry, not to local businesses or state coffers.”

The Michigan Production Alliance recently launched an ad publicising the fact that Michigan has made USD6 from every USD1 spent by visiting productions since the scheme was launched. However, more conservative approaches to public spending and reluctance to cater for Hollywood studios is becoming more widespread in America.

Projects of 30 minutes or under that apply for the Kansas Film Production Tax Credit must spend at least USD50,000 in-state, while the minimum spend rises to USD100,000 for projects longer than 30 minutes. The scheme’s currently confirmed to run through to the end of the 2013 tax year.