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Entries from Roth & Company, P.C. tagged with 'harold hill'

It's a bad idea even when they aren't looting

Tax Policy Blog on the resumption of Iowa film credits in the wake of the film scandal: Because of this scandal Iowa temporarily stopped shamelessly handing out cash to filmmakers, but the gravy train is up and running again. Iowa...

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Relax! Iowa is funding Hollywood again.

Iowa faces a $1 billion budget gap. Teachers and state employees have been laid off, salaries have been cut, courthouse hours are trimmed back and cases are delayed. But at least Hollywood is cashing in: Two films, Sam Steele &...

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Only $200 million in Iowa subsidies for Hollywood? Well allright, then!

Well, it could have been worse. Iowa officials now say the maximum possible liability for the taxpayers under the scandal-wracked Iowa Film Credit program is down to $200 million or so. It had been projected as high as $330 million....

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State-funded Cannibalism

Our brave filmmakers want the states to give them our money. Now they're shocked, shocked that politicians get upset when state money is used to -- well, let Kay Bell explain what's happening in Michigan: Michigan has decided not to...

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New charges in the Iowa film credit fiasco

The Iowa Attorney General piled on some new charges in the Iowa film tax credit scandal. Additional charges were filed against Wendy Runge and Matthias Saunders, who had been charged earlier with inflating expenses to obtain unwarranted tax credits. A...

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Targeting targeted breaks in Idaho

David Brunori reports on something I'd like to see somebody try in Iowa: An Idaho legislator filed suit against the State Tax Commission alleging that the commission unfairly gives secret tax breaks to wealthy and well connected citizens who game...

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You could find an Iowan to do that without a tax credit

The producers of MacGruber, a full-length movie based on a lame Saturday NIght LIve skip, are happy to take taxpayer funds for filming their masterwork in New Mexico, but they were unwilling to sacrifice artistic integrity. They went without a...

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Judge: Harold Hill doesn't have to tell us how he's spending our money

A Polk County judge last week ruled that film producers don't have to disclose how they use their taxpayer subsidies from the Iowa film credits. From The Des Moines Register: The producers filed the lawsuit in the wake of an...

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Michigan, Iowa go toe-to-toe in throwing away tax credit money

Michigan is all-in for the economic development tax credit game. The results could rival Iowa's film credit fiasco, reports theblogprof: When an audit asked the question of what other shenanigans were happening with taxpayer money, they found plenty. From The...

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Spreading the Stupid Virus

A great animation by the Tax Policy Blog of the spread of state film production tax breaks across the country. Because Hollywood needs the money more than the schools do. And who can you trust with your money more than...

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Look - a talking goat!

Tom Wheeler, the designated fall guy for the Iowa film fiasco, gave a long interview this week to the Des Moines Register. Mr. Wheeler has been indicted for "non-felonious misconduct in office," which seems to be the same as a...

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Film fiasco: What did the Department of Revenue know, and when?

It looks like Iowa taxpayers may have spent many millions subsidizing pretend filmmaking expenses, according to a long investigative piece in yesterday's Des Moines Register. And, the story hints, this might have been done with the knowledge and approval of...

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Des Moines. Do More!

Get more, do more, whatever. As long as it's subsidized: An attorney for the state asked a Los Angeles film producer during a court hearing Wednesday over public records why his budget for the movie "Blackbeard" doubled twice — to...

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Governor to sign tax credit haircut; it will grow back.

Governor Culver plans to sign SF 2380, the bill trimming back some of Iowa's 30-odd economic development tax credits. The bill followed up a study by some of the Governor's leading aides that was unable to show that any of...

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That's OK, the press conference was worth the squandered millions

When politicians enact "economic development" tax breaks, their goal isn't to help the economy; it's to provide opportunities for press conferences to boast about the "new jobs." Once the press conference ends, so does their interest. David Brunori tells how...

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Don't give them any ideas

Subsidize them and they will come: Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, an Iowa State University economics professor, said he sees no way to fix the film tax credit under a suspension that would make it pay. “So many states have tried...

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Film Credits: putting Hollywood before your kids.

Iowa's legislators may not be able to bring themselves to kill the scandal-ridden film tax credit program, reports the Quad City Times: A three-member subcommittee of the Senate Ways and Means Committee will consider a bill this afternoon that was...

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Film credit fraud tipped off by several weeks? More like a year

In the weeks leading up to the blow-up of Iowa's film tax credit program last fall, officials were scrambling to deal with "in-kind" expenses -- pretend expenses -- that were being used to qualify for tax credits that could be...

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Yes, I favor both free ice cream and free beer

Asked whether a six-week vacation in Cancun starting right now would be a good idea, a majority of Iowans would surely vote "yes." But if you then asked if it would still be a good idea if it meant they...

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Film Fiasco: where was the Iowa Department of Revenue?

Did the Iowa Department of Revenue know that things were badly amiss with the film credit program almost a year before the program collapsed in scandal last September? A passage in the criminal complaint against former Film Office Director Tom...

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If this is a crime, they won't be able to build enough jails

Welcome, Instapundit readers! For some background on the film credit scandal, the including taxpayer-funded Mercedes, go here. Our full film credit coverage can be found here. It's now a crime to be a bungling bureaucrat? At least that's the way...

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Movies, or teachers?

Kay Bell shows some less-than-full throated sympathy for film credits: I love movies. I get a big thrill when one is made in Texas or especially here in the Austin area. And I think productions do help boost local economies...

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Moore corporate welfare in Michigan

Michael Moore, director of Capitalism, A Love Story, is all about the unholy links between business and government. Like his: Moore isn't just any filmmaker. He is a current member of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council, a state organ...

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Starlets or teachers?

Senator Herman Quirmbach, on film credits: "This last year, the (film) credits cost $38.6 million," he said. "For that kind of money, I could save the jobs of 1,000 teachers. You tell me what's more important to the future of...

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Will Iowa's legislature take another shot at the deduction for federal taxes?

While Governor Culver's proposed budget doesn't propose to repeal Iowa's deduction for federal taxes paid, a key legislator has quietly put that issue back in play, reports GlobeGazette.com: Although legislative leaders repeatedly have said they don’t foresee action on a...

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How to attract filmmakers without bribes

Have a good natural location and a good business tax environment. It works for Nevada. Still, the Des Moines Register today once again publishes credulous propaganda on behalf of film subsidies, in spite of the disastrous record of the Iowa...

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Tax Foundation: Film Credits Fail

The Tax Foundation has a new study up on how worthless film credits are. As Iowa has perhaps the biggest such credit, it must be the most worthless. Tax Policy Blog summarizes: The key findings: * Forty-four states now offer...

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Report: ax the film credit, cap others.

The state agency supergeniuses who have been reviewing Iowa's corporate welfare tax credits issued their report Friday. While their recommendations are surprisingly bold for a bunch of state agency heads, they fall far short of what makes sense. They recommend:...

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Iowa issues film credit FAQ, updates list of approved projects

Now that it has already squandered millions of dollars on phantom film expenses, Iowa has gotten around to "clarifying" the rules governming the program to take your money and give it to Hollywood. A FAQ issued yesterday by the Department...

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I spent $450 million and all I got were these localized intangible benefits.

Iowa will spend $450 million on tax credits this fiscal year, and darned if anyone can tell that they do any good. That's the short version of the much-awaited analysis of Iowa's tax credits that came out yesterday. After the...

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Mismanagement: it's not just for film credits!

When the Iowa film tax credit scandal exploded in September, it raised an obvious question: were the other 30-odd Iowa economic development tax credits managed any better than the film credit? The answer: maybe not. The Des Moines Register reports:...

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Hiding the report on transparency

So much for transparency and tax credits. The Des Moines Register reports: Gov. Chet Culver's office does not intend to release reports expected this week on tax credit programs that affect thousands of Iowa workers and businesses before holding public...

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Tax Foundation on fixing Iowa's tax credits

The Tax Foundation has sent an open letter to Governor Culver and the members of his panel reviewing Iowa's tax credits. Their comments should be a roadmap for the panel: A $10 million income tax credit for a special interest...

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Iowa Film Credits, Take 2

After losing his first court battle against a claimant of the Iowa film credits, Attorney General Tom Miller threw in the towel, at least with respect to the 22 or so films already approved for tax credits. The attorney general...

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Whither Iowa's tax credits?

The Bleeding Heartland Blog has some predictions on the results of the Governor's review of Iowa's corporate welfare tax credit system: The film tax credit is a goner in my opinion. The research and development tax credit may well be...

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Film Credits win first courtroom battle

A Polk County judge told Iowa that it will have to give up to $6.5 million to a Canadian film company. Iowa Eye will get the credits for its film "Clean Out," which is one of 23 films with "recognized"...

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Details, shmetails. We're here to give money away!

It's more fun to be Santa than Bob Cratchit. Politicians have more fun, and more press, when they give away money in public than when they have to say "no" in private. That's why it's so easy for tax credit...

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Can you get film tax credits by making a film about film tax credits?

Iowa Public Television ran a half-hour feature about Iowa's 30 or so "economic development" tax credits last night. These credits are getting more attention in the wake of the use of the film credit to buy luxury cars and Ipods...

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Now shooting: 'Attack of the Film Lawyers'

You knew this would happen once they shut the Iowa Film Credit money faucet: A group of international filmmakers has sued Iowa's Department of Economic Development after having to postpone a multimillion-dollar project due to problems with Iowa's tax-credit program...

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Snipe hunting for film credits

The Iowa Attorney General's office says it may try to recover some of the $32 million in tax credits already issued in response to the well-publicized looting abuses in the program. It's not clear exactly how this would work. The...

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ABC News covers the film credit fiasco

Fans of Iowa's film credits said they would make Iowa famous. They have, in a way. They have made national network news. ABC covered the story Sunday: It has the sad story of the casting director who moved from LA...

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So how are film credits working out in other states?

The Des Moines Register finally asks the question that nobody bothered to ask in 2007 when Iowa enacted it's scandal-plagued film credit: how's it going in other states. Not so great: Even as some researchers have identified a clear boost...

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Film credits, hayseeds and sophisticates

The Wall Street Journal editorial page picks up on Iowa's film credit fiasco: Iowa's program lured Tinsel Town with a whopping 50% tax credit for production costs in the state—payroll, food, living expenses. They even let the Rodeo Drive tax...

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First things first.

Unrelated but related headlines: Moviemakers: Lift freeze on current film projects. Before they entered the Capitol, the group emphasized the importance of the incentive program. "We have very little time left before the remaining projects, which are still holding on,...

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Iowa's poor business tax climate: why tax credits don't help

There are two basic approaches to using state tax rules to attract businesses. One is to have a low tax rate with a broad base and simple rules. Or you can have a high tax rate, but use targeted tax...

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Harold Hill Follies: four weeks later.

The daily disclosures of chicanery and incompetence from the Iowa Film Credit program have slowed down, four weeks after the scandal exploded with a 4:56 p.m. Friday document dump from the Governor's office. The film credit program is dead in...

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Special effects, Iowa film credit style.

Some filmmakers set up strawman Iowa entities to qualify purchases from non-Iowa vendors for the 50% transferable film tax credit subsidy, according the film credit accountant report issued this week. WHO reports that not all of these middlemen were set...

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Iowa Film credits: Strawman LLCs to develop your economy

The rules of the Iowa Film Credit looting economic development program required that funds be spent in Iowa to qualify for the credit. When it wasn't enough to pretend to spend money, or to claim credit for the cost of...

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The Iowa 'let's pretend' film tax credit

Hollywood is a fantasy factory. The special effects carry over into their accounting, where they turned pretend expenditures into real money, according to the new outside accountant report on the Iowa Film Credit program. From the report: Organizations were contracted...

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Iowa's wheeler-dealer tax credit

Iowa today released the accountant's report on the film credit debacle. It reveals a few new wrinkles on this state-authorized looting of the treasury. My favorite: tax credits were issued to cover the cost of the middlemen who secured the...

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Film credit regrets

Now that Iowa's film credit program has exploded in corruption and mismanagement, one of our legislative leaders is inching towards contrition: "If it’s all just a great big give-away with no long-term job creation or economic growth in this state...

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Bad news, good news

September didn't go well for Iowa's tax collectors: The latest monthly revenue report issued by the Legislative Services Agency shows state tax collections plummeted by 19.2 percent – marking the eighth straight monthly decline and increasing the likelihood that the...

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The taxpayers' wary watchdog

Iowans for Tax Relief, "The Taxpayers' Watchdog," has revamped its webpage. Check out the "latest news" from their shiny new page: Relax! It seems nothing has happened in Iowa's tax or spending picture between August 11 and September 30 that...

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Tom Arnold still wants more of your money

While auditors work to add up the bill for our Film Credit Fiasco, Governor Culver is seeking the advice of policy experts: Actor Tom Arnold (and Iowa native) told Channel 13 news he took part in a conference call Monday...

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Because you can't make a movie without an iPod for your son

Making a movie is more complicated than us Iowa rubes can imagine. Not only do you need lights, cameras, crews, actors, and stuff like that; you also need... iPods and feather beds!. The Des Moines Register tracked down the Bruce...

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The film credit fiasco: the clued-in and the clueless, media edition

Once burned, twice shy works for most of us. Some reporters and columnists seem to require repeated burning. John Carlson at The Des Moines Register has pulled his hand away from the stove: We are, indeed, suckers — a lot...

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Harold Hill's Film Credit Follies: where we stand one week later

At 4:56 p.m. one week ago, the Iowa Governor's office issued a press release putting out the first word of how an obscure tax credit has become what one commenter calls, without overstatement, "among the most expensive mistakes in our...

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Mike, me and Film Credits

So many questions, so little time. I shared a podium this week with Mike Gronstal, the Iowa Senate Majority Leader, at the Iowa Bankers Association convention. Also on the panel were Jeff Robinson from the state Legislative Services agency and...

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Harold Hill's Film Credit Follies Thursday Roundup

It's been almost a week since the film credit scandal broke, but the news continues to come thick and fast. Yesterday one state agency said that we might be able to wiggle off the hook for our $363 million film...

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Film Credit Fiasco: $121 per Iowan, or $26?

The Des Moines Register says Iowans might be on the hook for up to $363 million in film credits, which would mean every man, woman, and child star in Iowa would be giving $121 to Hollywood for... nothing. Iowa Independent...

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Iowa: We think we can weasel out of this

Iowa hopes to weasel out of tax credits for 109 projects that have received initial approval, reports The Des Moines Register: Iowa has no obligation to provide tax credits for about $500 million in film projects that received initial state...

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No, the film credit isn't good for us

Now that every Iowan may be on the hook for $100 to Hollywood under our catastrophic film credit program -- is every Iowan getting $100 of benefit from it? Not bloody likely. Charles Bruner of the Iowa Fiscal Partnership explains...

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Wednesday Harold Hill Film Credit Follies roundup

The Des Moines Register has figured out who got the fancy cars paid for by Iowa's taxpayers: Mike Tramontina, who resigned last week as director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, sent letters to two veteran Hollywood filmmakers —...

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Tuesday Morning Film Credit Follies Roundup

The Des Moines Register reports that careless drafting helped pave the way for the film credit feeding frenzy: "There were enough loopholes in this legislation that allowed very clever people from Hollywood and elsewhere to drive a Mercedes-Benz and a...

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But we're not like the other looters!

WHOTV.com brings us the sad tale of the poor subsidized filmmakers woes now that the Governor has turned off the money spigot: There was a lot of nervousness, people wondering what's going on. What happened? No one knows what's going...

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The Harold Hill Follies: Monday afternoon update

Radio Iowa: Film Office manager fired; another DED official resigns. It quotes from a Governor's Office press release: Governor Chet Culver announced today the departure of two officials from the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED). The manager of the...

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How the Iowa Film Credit Pinata works

As the Film Credit Program grinds to a halt in a quagmire of mismanagement and corruption, let's review how this state-sponsored looting program works. Films approved for the "half-price filmmaking" program get allocated a tax credit equal to 50% of...

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Is $300 million enough to help California's starving starlets?

The Iowa Film Credit Program isn't as bad as we thought. It's far worse. From The Des Moines Register: Iowa's bill for going to the movies could be a blockbuster: Up to $300 million in coming years, says an Iowa...

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The Iowa Film Credit explosion: we shouldn't be surprised.

Iowa's statehouse politicians will all be shocked, shocked that corruption and mismanagement were rife in the Iowa Film Credit program. We should actually be more surprised when such programs aren't mismanaged and looted. Incompetence and exploitation are practically built in...

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Buy them a Benz and they will come!

So this is what economic development in Iowa comes down to: We have heard reports of two vehicles purchased through the tax credit program that were not used directly on a film. Upon learning this management dug into those two...

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How dare you object to spending your money to promote my business?

Thanks to Iowa's 50% movie subsidy, slated to cost $77 million this year, a local restaurant owner had a movie scene shot at her place. And she's irate that anybody would have a problem with it. However, budget problems are...

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Taking money from you and your business to subsidize California's actors

From a letter to the editor in today's Des Moines Register: Well, during my 20 years of being in and around community theater in the Des Moines area, you get to know people, and you get to know what's going...

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State tax receipts continue to crash; moviemakers want more of what's left.

The state's revenue stream continues to dry up: August was another red-letter month - as in negative growth - for net state tax collections. Last month's 2.8 percent decline in state revenues marked the seventh straight monthly decline. Legislative Services...

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Let them eat canapes

So what if the state faces a billion-dollar budget shortfall. Never mind that the state still hasn't finished paying for the 2008 floods, or that schools are having to choose between math and music. Des Moines Register Columnist Rekha Basu...

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Government takes your money to give to others. The others take it. Success!

Kathie Obradovich falls for the broken window fallacy about halfway through this post: State tax breaks will take a bigger bite out of revenue than previously estimated — about $478 million next year, the Register reports. That’s about 50 percent...

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Film industry wants unlimited access to Iowans' wallets

Hollywood says $50 million in giveaways isn't enough. Iowa has the most generous giveaway for filmmakers in the country, with transferable tax credits (in other words, cash subsidies) for up to half of a film's Iowa production costs. Lawmakers realized...

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Why 'Cash for Clunkers' is like the Iowa Film Credit

While buying and trashing old cars and subsidizing filmmakers may seem very different, they actually are similar in important ways. They illustrate that politicians take the shocking phenomenon that people will line up for free money as proof that a...

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Can there be a bad tax cut?

Yes. The Tax Policy Blog explains: That is, suppose the Democrats gave up on trying to force (via regulation) radio stations to give "equal time" to differing political viewpoints. And now instead, suppose they put into law a (nonrefundable) "Talk...

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Gee, are we getting fleeced or something?

At some point, even the biggest suckers can figure out when they've been had. The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Legislature is beginning to catch on that their tax credit subsidy to Hollywood may not be the world's...

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Breaking news: If you give away money, people will take it!

Hollywood is flocking to Iowa's 50% filmmaker subsidy: At least 58 proposed projects - mostly involving feature-length films - have applied to receive state tax incentives that are among the nation's most attractive, ranking 2009 as the high-water mark for...

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Sure we lose money, but think of the jobs!

The race to throw money at Hollywood continues: Many states that are cutting spending on schools, roads and other basics have been lavishing hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives on Hollywood studios to lure TV and movie productions —...

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We're broke? Lets take all of our money and go see a movie!

Unrelated-yet-related stories: Iowa revenue takes double-digit plunge in May A spike in state tax refunds and continued negative economic factors caused a double-digit plunge in May’s state revenues, state officials said Monday. The decline raised new concerns whether the revised...

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HAROLD HILL MARCHES EVERYWHERE

The Tax Policy Blog has an excellent short discussion of the madness of filmmaker tax credits that is sweeping the nation. An excerpt: Foremost, it shows that economic actors (like owners of businesses) respond to incentives, whether you say the...

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HAROLD HILL CARRIES INDIANA

So much for "one man with courage makes a majority." The Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, made a rare stand for the taxpayers last year by vetoing a film subsidy bill similar to Iowa's film tax credit. Last week Indiana's...

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HOW HAROLD HILL CLAIMS HIS IOWA FILM CREDITS

The Iowa Department of Revenue has proposed rules for the film industry tax breaks enacted this spring. There are two main sets of breaks -- an exclusion from income for taxpayers who provide goods and services for filmmakers, and a...

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harold hill

HAROLD HILL GULLS THE HOUSE

Like rubes rushing the patent medicine wagon, the Iowa House almost unanimously voted for a rich special interest giveaway for the film industry yesterday. By a 95-1 margin the House approved HF 892 to provide a 50% subsidy to film...

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harold hill

HAROLD HILL HAS A NEW FILM BILL

For procedural reasons that escape me, a new version of the filmmaker giveaway bill was introduced and referred to the Iowa House Ways and Means Committee yesterday. The bill, HF 892, has three separate giveaways for people who want to...

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harold hill

HAROLD HILL MARCHES AT THE LEGISLATURE

Iowa's House Economic Growth Committee passed the movie-maker subsidy bill, HF 411, earlier this week. The bill creates transferable tax credits for filmmakers to sell at a discount to finance their projects. It's like a direct state film subsidy, but...

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harold hill

HAROLD HILL WANTS US TO FINANCE HIS FILM

The Iowa City Press Citizen has a one-sided piece up shilling for "incentives" for people to make movies in Iowa. It gives the standard excuse for offering subsidies to one business at the expense of the rest of us: If...

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harold hill

HAROLD HILL WANTS TO MAKE A MOVIE IN IOWA

A young independent filmmaker has generously offered to shoot her first film right here in Iowa, if we pay her a big enough bribe. From this morning's Des Moines Register: Cedar Rapids will play a starring role in "Conditional Love,"...

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