Do you like Hawaii Five-0? No matter, it’s very likely you will see far more films and television productions made in Hawaii in the near future. The legislature in Hawaii is considering increasing the film credit rate from 15% to 35% in Oahu and 20% to 40% on all other islands. One film company has a goal of ten movies and two television shows a year! It sounds great, as it would lead to thousands of jobs. What could go wrong?
Plenty. Joe Kristan has been covering the Iowa film credit scandal; see, for example, this update from last week. Let’s just say when there’s a lot of money involved, there’s the urge by some to stick their hands in the cookie jar. Perhaps this won’t happen in Hawaii, but instead of making Hawaii a better place for filmmakers, why not lower the tax rates for everyone so that Hawaii encourages all industries to locate their. A far simpler solution than targeted tax breaks, but its also one that usually can’t lead to corruption.