Michigan governor touts film tax credit program amid criticism

Michigan has become a Hollywood favorite -- and the state's governor wants to keep it that way.

In an apparent effort to bolster a program that has recently drawn some harsh scrutiny, Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Friday renewed her support for film tax breaks that were enacted in 2008. Michigan offers filmmakers a tax credit of up to 42% on qualified production expenses, the most generous incentive of its kind in the country.

"We are watching an entire new industry emerge in Michigan,'' Granholm said at an event hosted by a film industry group. "The number of productions being filmed in Michigan is increasing, we are creating jobs and attracting production facilities, and we are keeping our young people here in Michigan."

Granholm's comments come in the wake of a critical report from the state's Senate Fiscal Agency that concluded that the tax credit program was paying out more in credits than it was taking in, and raised questions about its overall impact on the state's economy.

The program's effectiveness has become a political hot potato. Granholm, a Democrat, views the industry as a key growth driver for Michigan's depressed economy, but Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder has questioned the viability of the film tax breaks in light of the state's budget crisis.

Granholm noted that the film incentive has attracted a wide range of productions to Michigan, including the new ABC series "Detroit 1-8-7" and such movies as "Transformers III" and "30 Minutes or Less." This year, 38 projects have wrapped in Michigan and eight others are underway. The productions are expected to generate $300 million in spending this year.

"The incentives have provided important economic benefits for the state, while also helping to diversify our economy," Granholm said.

-- Richard Verrier

 

 

Comments

[pierohassan]

Funny how tax breaks for rich liberal movie people are okay with domecrats but if you run a muffler shop or excavation company in LA, you must be punished with outright taxes and taxes posing as "fees." Where's Warren Beatty - a self-admitted "tax and spend liberal" denouncing the fact that the film undustry isn't paying its fair share to California's treasury? According to the Hollywood/Democrat playbook, taxes are great - as long as someone else pays them.

[JeffersonAdams]

Libs in Michigan have found another avenue for easy lifting wealth creation using state sponsored extortion of other peoples money. Look what 50 years of progressive policy and billions of dollars have done to Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Pontiac.
Now Hollywood?...Lip stick on a pig.

They also have another outlet for their insufferable egos.
I already hear..."I'm in the movie industry".
10,000 more Mitch Albom's......Enter stage left.

[Megan Brown]

To those posting negative comments about Hollywood liberals and their egos and the uselessness of the industry in Michigan, take a moment to consider 50 (and growing) Michigan employees with full time jobs at Cinepro Pictures/Maxsar Digital Studios in Livonia. Tell each one of those individuals that their paychecks don't matter every week. I promise you that Eric, Kathryn, Daniel, Stevie, Antoinette, Wayne, Barbara, Dave, Joe, Nick, Kevin, Danielle, Jim, Lynda, Candace, Emelia, Darralynn, Joe, John, and Kevin (to name a few full timers) appreciate the fact they can work professionally in a creative industry without leaving home.

Without these tax incentives, producers would be taking their films to countries like Romania in order to make their financing structures work in a complex, challenging changing fiscal environment. Keeping the tax incentives keeps jobs in America, keeping the Michigan Film Tax incentive keeps jobs in Michigan.