The Iowa Supreme Court says the film companies that received state tax credits do have to release information on how much their productions cost. A Polk County District Court ruling had said the 11 film companies that received tax credits from the now defunct Iowa program could keep their budget summaries from being released to the public.
The film companies had argued that releasing the information would allow the public to figure out things like how much the director of a film was paid, and would do harm to their companies. The Supreme Court ruled that the budget information is not a trade secret that needs to be protected, and that public has a right to know the budget information to see how public money from the tax credits is being spent.
The court also noted that the budget information could likely be determined because of the 50-percent formula used to figure the tax credits. The high court reversed the ruling and sent the case back to district court for further action.