Tax credit needed for opportunities

The Iowa Film and Television Tax Credit created in 2007 is one of the most exciting and creative enactments the state government has produced in my lifetime. Because of these tax credits, Iowa artists and arts-related technicians have the hope of being able to stay in Iowa to make a living and raise a family doing the work they love.

I am talking about painters, sculptors, cartoonists, graphic artists, web designers, musicians, vocalists, arrangers, composers, recording and lighting engineers, stage designers and set builders, writers, poets, screen/play writers, cameramen and editors, dancers and choreographers and many more. Most Iowans who have pursued these lines of work leave Iowa for other areas where their talents are more fully appreciated; they comprise many of the youths who leave Iowa.

The arts community in Iowa has been energized by the tax credit legislation. Give it five years and a new arts industry based upon the production of movies will be firmly established providing thousands of jobs for Iowans. The state needs to keep the tax credit program alive because of the considerable opportunities it offers to artists and other creative people.

Patrick Hazell

Iowa Blues Hall of Fame inductee

Washington, Iowa