Uh-Oh: The Problematic Tax Breaks of ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’. Did her show receive a subsidy?

National Review ^ | 03/30/2011 | Jim Geraghty

[GoCards]

geez. Im so over these folks. The poor woman has not even said she is running.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Yeah Sarah already issued a statement on this BS..same BS, different day. These people just can’t get over themselves can they..they wake up in the morning and try to find some BS to stick to the wall

[backwoods-engineer]

This smarmy hit from the right has already been debunked on FR today. Will find link...

[FrankR]

[IrishCatholic]

What a horse's buttocks. He is making up out of whole cloth a controversy. And, I emphasize MAKING UP. Unless Sarah Palin was the producer and owner, then she is, gasp, taking advantage of showcasing her home state using the available financing that is available to everyone else in the nation.

She isn't the governor, and old Jim doesn't seem to be a crusader in changing the incentive. So, I guess he is just talking out his butt.

[aphid]

Old news. Palin set’s ‘em straight:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150142191023435

Twitter fight followed between Geraghty (NRO), Treacher (DC), RA Mansour (SP). Result? Palin won on facts.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Palin haters breaking wind again. This is a non-starter.

[MCF]

Actually by Palin using Alaska as a back drop for her program she gave a huge tourism boost to the state. Every state has a tourism budget to promote their state. I doubt anybody else would have provided halve the audience that she did. So, in reality she is probable under paid.

[CedarDave]

There at nine other Alaska Reality shows in addition to “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” No doubt all receive film tax credits by the same law that helped Sarah:

Alaska State Troopers
Flying Wild Alaska
Gold Rush Alaska
Ice Road Truckers
Deadliest Catch
Alaska Wing Men
The Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod
Tougher in Alaska
Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment

http://www.adn.com/2011/02/14/1699528/alaska-based-shows-what-do-the.html

[mrsmith]

Picayune ain’t just a city in Mississippi...

[maica]

What was it that Ann Coulter called the National Review crowd? Girly-men? This column sounds like the back-biting sometimes heard in girls’ high schools.

[Al B.]

Ping if you haven't seen this. Also, Mark Levin posted on this topic on his facebook page:

From a good friend

"I don't know if you are going to address Geraghty's outrageous attack on Palin's show and the alleged 'tax subsidy' she granted herself (three years before she ever had the idea to make the show - she must really be prescient) in NRO today. I know you have so many things you have to cover every day you might not have time - understandable. I find such a biased, ill informed attack coming from NRO really sad. Why do they fear Ms. Palin so much? What has she ever done to earn their ire - other that stand for homespun American values and principals? Why single out Ms. Palin's little info-mercial for Alaskan Tourism? Geraghty calls the Alaskan 'tax credit' a 'government subsidy' of Palin's film. What?! I missed the part where the 'tax credit' was specifically earmarked for Ms. Palin. Many localities offer tax credits to bring 'business' to their areas, whether film, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, etc. Has Geraghty ever stopped to think that a 'tax credit' is a kind of 'tax cut' - I guess not. Aren't lower taxes as an incentive to spur free market expansion supposed to be a basic tenant of conservatism? I guess Geraghty missed that meeting. It seems Geraghty has also missed the fact that Burnett Productions, and Ms. Palin, will all pay federal income tax on what they earn from the showing of the film - mainly from TLC and advertisers. The Alaskan Tax credit will only act to lower this tax burden.

Not only am I saddened by these attacks of 'one of our own' but I am fearful. If the GOP nominates another 'Bush Republic' to run against POTUS, the GOP will lose. The Tea Party conservatives will stay home, they will not work for another 'McCain' and the unions will turn out the vote for the incumbent (rhetorical question coming) why don't the establishment Republicans see this?"

No, my friend, I won't be addressing it. I think you said all that needs to be said.

[crazyhorse691]

The show spent $3.6 million on production in the state, meaning that Alaskan taxpayers covered a third of the cost of the show.

---

They doubled their money!!!And no money would have flowed into the shows coffers because it is in tax credits not a rebate. Heck, even cities offer tax abatements for all sorts of economic projects that will have(hopefully)a increased tax inflow in the future.

[greyfoxx39]

National Review=Romney mouthpiece.

[maica]

A state that is friendly to tv show producers is a good thing.

Maryland had a good industry going for local actors, crew, drivers, caterers, etc with the several David Simon series -
Homicide
The Corner
The Wire

One of the characters came too close to the real life Baltimore mayor who was running for governor, so when the real life man became governor, he stopped the subsidies that had made the productions possible.

So he stopped the jobs of hundreds of skilled workers in MD, because his petty revenge was more important than jobs.

[allmendream]

A tax credit is not a subsidy.

Ethanol gets a subsidy.

These guys got a tax credit.

[SeekAndFind]

I agree. People seem to forget the all important difference.

TAX CREDIT — I Don’t take more of your profit from you.

TAX SUBSIDY — I give you money taken from other tax payers.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

So, where's the beef?

What did she do that was illegal?

Nothing?

Hmmm.

[eyedigress]

Poor moonbats didn’t get the memo. It’s EXTREME DRACONION CUTS and the EVIL “TEA” PARTY. They seem to be fracturing under the weight of their idiot talking points.