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.Z.0!`' •'.'o ft•, Wil Okabe <br /> ^ S\,4„ Managing Director <br /> Harry Kim <br /> Mayor y� Barbara J.Kossow <br /> b or Mie ..• Deputy Managing Director <br /> (finality of c tt£uai`i <br /> (Office of*Aar <br /> 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553 <br /> KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.,Bldg C • Kadua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 <br /> (808)323-4444 • Fax(808)323-4440 <br /> March 15, 2017 <br /> Representative Mark Nakashima, Chairman <br /> Committee on Economic Development and Business <br /> Hawaii State Legislature <br /> Honolulu, Hawaii 96815 <br /> Dear Chairman Nakashima and Committee Members, <br /> RE: SB 1086 SD 2 <br /> Relating to the Motion Picture, Digital Media and Film Production <br /> Income Tax Credit <br /> Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony regarding SB 1086, SD2, <br /> relating to the motion picture, digital media, and film production income tax credit. The <br /> County of Hawai'i supports this measure and suggests further modifications of the <br /> measure to level the playing field between Neighbor Island and Oahu-based production. <br /> The film, media and supporting creative industries are highly competitive both <br /> nationally and globally, and the State's tax credit, dating to 2006, has incentivized a <br /> wide range of productions to select Hawai'i for their work. The proposed extension of <br /> the production tax credit is critical to the continued health and growth of the media <br /> sector. Without the extension of the credit, not only production-related work will be <br /> impacted, but the likelihood of a public/private partnership to develop new industry <br /> infrastructure will be stalled. <br /> The cost of production is typically higher on the neighbor islands; therefore the <br /> County of Hawai'i supports increasing the tax credit to 35 percent over the current 25 <br /> percent rate for counties with a population of 700,000 or less. This will enable neighbor <br /> island counties to be more competitive and attractive to the media sector. <br /> County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. <br />