Romcoms, renovation shows qualify for new Minnesota film tax credit, agency says - Axios Twin CitiesLog InLog InAxios Twin Cities is an Axios company.

Rom-com renovation show qualify for new Minnesota film tax credit agency says

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios At least six film or TV projects have taken part in Minnesota's new Film Production Tax Credit, per the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. What's happening: Projects deemed eligible for the 25% break on income taxes for the 2022 tax year include HGTV's "Renovation 911," the of Chuck Klosterman’s "Downtown Owl," and the holiday flick "Merry KissCam," . which features meals the Twin Cities chef and TV personality shares with people across the country, also got the green light. How it works: In order to qualify for the tax break, which passed after , the productions had to plan to spend more than $1 million in the state."Downtown Owl," for example, spent $1,419,859 and will be issued a tax credit of $343,147, a DEED spokesperson told Axios. The production has already wrapped local work and submitted its independent audit report accounting for the on-the-ground spending to the state. State of play: The eligible TV and film projects planned to spend a combined $10.3 million in the state, DEED commissioner Steve Grove said in a press release.That's a big increase from the state's smaller tax rebate program, which generated about $2 million a year pre-pandemic from projects that spent $100,000 or more, Melodie Bahan, executive director of Minnesota Film & TV, told Axios via email. What to watch: Bahan said she hopes to see the state land more feature films or limited series in the months and years ahead to get closer to the goal of driving $20-25 million in local spending a year by the industry."Production is just ramping back up, so we're expecting a significant increase in 2023," she said. Go deeper: Here's the . Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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