Film incentives are a losing proposition for taxpayers

The prospect of a movie star eating at a local restaurant or a movie being filmed in your home town is appealing to most people. Yet it shouldn't be funded by taxpayers.

Mississippi is one of the numerous states that offer taxpayer funded film incentives to Hollywood producers in an attempt to have movies shot in the Magnolia State.

There are two programs on the book. One is the Mississippi Investment Rebate, which offers a 25 percent rebate on purchases from state vendors and companies. The other is the Resident Payroll Rebate, which offers a 30 percent cash rebate on payroll paid to resident cast and crew members.

A third rebate, a 25 percent rebate on payroll paid to cast and crew members who are not Mississippi residents, expired two years ago. But lawmakers seem very interested in reviving it this year.

So, who could be against this? For one, taxpayers ought to be. Film incentives are a losing proposition. And that is according to the state's own data.

A 2015 PEER Report shows taxpayers receive just 49