The head of the Iowa Film Office says surrounding states are making it tougher on Iowa to lure the film industry to the Hawkeye State. Film Office manager Tom Wheeler says all the states around Iowa are trying to bring in filmmakers.
He says Illinois has an aggressive plan, Wisconsin is modeling its plan after Louisiana, which Wheeler says is the top plan in the nation. Wheeler says Missouri has had a plan in place for some time, and Minnesota has reinstated its plan.
Wheeler says our state is falling behind. Wheeler says Iowa doesn’t have a formal plan that will compare with other states. He says Iowa has incentives, but not the type of incentives needed.
Wheeler says there’s one thing filmmakers are looking for. He says filmmakers are looking for a way to relieve pressure on their bottom line and make their dollars go farther. Wheeler says Iowa needs to look at some tax incentives for filmmakers. Wheeler says Illinois is offering a 20-percent tax rebate on all money spent on a project. Wheeler says a couple of plans have been before the Iowa legislature in recents years, but have failed to pass.