Linda Martinez To Head Missouri Department of Economic Development
In what will hopefully be good news for the Missouri Film Industry, Incoming Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon named Bryan Cave lawyer and tax credit guru Linda Martinez his economic development director on January 6th.
She’s the first woman ever named to the position, but more important is her expertise:
Martinez’s practice focuses on tax credits, one of the cornerstones of Nixon’s economic recovery plan. At the law firm, she also focuses on development, public-private partnerships for the creation of public facilities, museums, sports and entertainment complexes, and industrial, manufacturing and multifamily housing facilities, according to the law firm’s online biography of Martinez.
The experience in leveraging Tax Credits becomes important when you consider the recent efforts of the Missouri Film Commission:
During the year 2007, a number of important revisions to Missouri’s Film Production Tax Credit Program (135.750, RSMo) were passed by the Missouri legislature. On January 1, 2008, the following revisions took effect:
1. The annual cap on available film production tax credits increased from $1,500,000 to $4,500,000.
2. The rate that a film can earn for qualifying expenditures made in Missouri dropped from 50% to 35%.
3. The revised statute eliminated the $1,000,000 cap on tax credits per film project.
4. The spending threshold required to qualify for the Missouri tax credit program dropped from $300,000 to $100,000 for projects longer than 30 minutes, and $50,000 for projects shorter than 30 minutes.
These changes all reflected the Commission’s recommendations for ways to attract more film and motion media production to Missouri in order to create additional high-paying jobs, to increase revenue for the state and to enhance the long-term development of a self-sustaining film and motion media industry in Missouri.
The changes in Missouri’s Film Production Tax Credit Program are already having an impact. For every dollar in tax credits extended by Missouri in 2008, nearly $3 have already been spent in-state by film production companies since no tax credits are provided until a film’s production expenditures have been verified by the Department of Economic Development. In addition, DED calculates an economic multiplier of around 2 for films produced in Missouri. This means that for every $1,000,000 directly spent in Missouri by a film, about $2,000,000 ripples through the economy.
The information above is from the 2008 report produced by the Film Commission which is headed by Professor Mark Biggs of Missouri State University. Consider joining the Missouri Motion Media Association (mommaonline.com) and the Missouri Film Alliance of Springfield (missourifilm.org) in order to stay in front of these developments and to learn more about how you can benefit.
