Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Film And Media topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee trims cap, narrows sales-tax exemption for Kansas film and digital media incentives and approves bill
Summary
Senate Bill 52, proposing film and digital media tax incentives, was amended to lower the annual cap and to limit sales-tax exemptions; the committee approved the bill as amended.
The Senate Committee on Commerce advanced Senate Bill 52, the proposed Kansas Film and Digital Media Production Development Act, after adopting several amendments that narrowed the program's scale and how sales-tax benefits would apply.
Senate Bill 52 would establish two types of tax incentives for eligible film and digital media projects produced in Kansas: an income-tax credit tied to production or post-production expenditures (subject to Secretary of Commerce approval) and a possible sales-tax exemption for production-related purchases. The bill as presented would have applied for tax years 2025 through 2034 and included an initial annual cap on credits.
Committee members adopted an amendment offered by Senator Tyson that reduced a $10,000,000 cap to $5,000,000; that amendment passed. Committee staff explained that the bill's basic credit structure can produce a production credit of 30% (for larger productions) or a Kansas-based production company credit of 25%, and additional incremental credits could raise an eligible project’s total to about 40% under certain qualifying conditions.
A later amendment that would have removed transferability of the credits was debated and failed. Senator Dietrich and staff noted that comparable credits in other states are often transferable to allow entities without Kansas tax liability to monetize the incentive; opponents of transferability argued for preventing resale of credits. The chair called a voice vote; the motion to make credits nontransferable failed.
The committee also debated the sales-tax exemption component. Senator Tyson proposed amendments to narrow the sales-tax exemption: after initial debate about removing the exemption entirely, the committee adopted a dollar-cap amendment that limits sales-tax-exempt purchases to $1,000,000 per production company per year. Supporters of retaining a meaningful sales-tax exemption argued that many productions have little or no Kansas income-tax liability in early years and that sales-tax relief is often the principal incentive that attracts productions.
After amendment activity, a motion to report Senate Bill 52 favorably as amended was made and seconded; the committee carried the bill by voice vote.
Key details recorded in committee discussion: the adopted cap reduction to $5,000,000 (from a prior $10,000,000 proposal); the credit structure described by staff (base credits of 30% or 25% with additional increments up to roughly 40%); and a per-company sales-tax exemption limit of $1,000,000 per year as adopted by amendment.
