Film and TV production companies get an estimated $28 million in tax credits annually in Hawai'i, but the state will not release the names of the companies benefiting from the program.

Hawai'i Film Commissioner Donne Dawson recently denied an Advertiser request for the information, saying the disclosure might discourage companies from filming in the state or discourage them from sharing accurate information with the state.

"The productions would have a problem with making their information public — particularly their financial information — for competitive reasons," she said.

Movie and TV productions spend about $100 million in Hawai'i annually and create about 3,500 jobs, according to Lawrence Boyd, a labor economist for the University of Hawai'i's Center for Labor Education and Research.

The decision to keep the identities of companies seeking state film tax breaks confidential was made based on advice from the state Attorney General's office, said Dawson, but not all lawmakers agreed it was necessary.

"The public has a right to know what is going on with these dollars," said state Rep. Glenn Wakai, D-31st (Salt Lake, Tripler). "It should be open."

If movie productions want to remain confidential, then they shouldn't seek state tax breaks, added Wakai.

Lowell Kalapa, president of the nonprofit Tax Foundation of Hawai'i, agreed the identities should be released.

"This should be like any expenditure of public funds. It should be public," Kalapa said. "Does the law say that it is confidential information? I don't think so."

WHAT SOME STATES DO

While Hawai'i taxpayers don't get to know which movies they subsidize, taxpayers in states including Connecticut, Georgia and Louisiana do.

Louisiana collects information on companies seeking credits and makes the information public.

"Everything they give us is pretty much open to the public," said Alex Schott, executive director for the Louisiana Governor's Office of Film & Television Development. "It's never been an issue.

"We're a pretty transparent office. We think that serves us out in the long-run."

Georgia discloses the names of companies receiving tax credits but may withhold more detailed information, such as a movie's script, said Bert Brantley, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

"I don't think that the name or address (of an applicant) would be a trade secret," Brantley said. "We want the public to know what's going on, and we want to build support for our office for productions that are here."

Film production spending is similar in states that make information public and those that don't.

Louisiana reported $200 million in movie spending last year, and Georgia had $125 million.

COMPETITIVE REASONS

New Mexico does not make its movie tax credit registration forms public, said Lisa Strout, director for the film division of New Mexico's economic development office. Production companies need confidentiality for competitive reasons, she said.

New Mexico reported $125 million in movie production spending last year.

To encourage more film production in Hawai'i, lawmakers increased the state's 4 percent production tax credit this year to 15 percent on O'ahu and 20 percent on the Neighbor Islands.

The application form for the new film tax credits specifically states that the information will not be made public. However, companies can opt to make their information public. As of yesterday, 11 tax credit applications had been filed with the Hawai'i Film Office. However, none of the applicants opted to make their applications public.

The identities of film and TV companies that benefited from tax credits in the past were not made public. However, some local productions, including ABC TV's "Lost" and the films "The Big Bounce" and "Blue Crush" are known to have used state tax credits. The estimated cost to the state of subsidizing "The Big Bounce" and "Blue Crush" was in the range of $30 million to $36 million over five years. The amount of tax credits for "Lost" is not known.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.