Show MO Act would re-establish film tax credit in Missouri
By ABBY DODGE
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Bills in both the Missouri House and Senate supporting the “Show MO Act” are moving forward.
The bills would re-establish the film tax credit that ended in 2013. Kansas City has its own film incentive, but the 10 percent rebate doesn’t stretch beyond city lines.
Some Missouri groups are banning together to revive an old incentive that brought millions to the state.
“We want to be in the entertainment business. We want to have a piece of that pie,” said Missouri Motion Media Association president Michelle Davidson. “The only way that will happen is if our state legislators believe in this industry and what to create an opportunity for us to attract those businesses.”
Davidson has traveled to Jefferson City to testify for the bills with bipartisan support. Democrats and republicans in the house and senate filled similar “Show MO Act” bills.
Senate Bill 732 sponsored by Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Caldwell, passed in the economic development committee in late January. House Bill 2099 sponsored by Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, is currently in the Tourism committee.
Rep. LaDonna Appelbaum, D-St. Louis, has a similar bill working its way through the house. Appelbaum’s bill hasn’t been assigned to a committee hearing schedule. In the Senate Sen. Angela Mosley, D-St. Louis County, also has a similar bill. Senate Bill 721 was referred to the Economic Development Committee.
“It’s something that appeals to both sides of the aisle,” Davidson said. “This is a good thing for the state. This is about money, this is about opportunity, this is about tourism, which is fantastic.”
According to the Missouri Motion Media Association the last movie filmed in the state under the old tax incentive was Gone Girl.
The group estimates that movie alone brought $7.9 million dollars to the Cape Girardeau area.
Davidson said a lapse in the incentive has created a big loss for the state, most recently losing out on a show originally called “Kansas City” now set in Oklahoma.
“I don’t know if there’s time to change that, but we can’t let that happen again,” she said. “We can’t have an Ozark that’s filmed in Georgia. We can’t have a show that’s supposed to be filmed in Kansas City move to Oklahoma. We’ve got to be competitive.”
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