Michigan lawmakers weigh new version of tax credits for film, TV and commercial production
(CBS DETROIT) - It could be lights, camera, action once again in Michigan as lawmakers consider bringing new tax credits for television shows and films produced in the state.
"In the first year, we expect to have $3 to $500 million injected into the economy," said David Haddad, chairman of the Michigan Film Industry Association.
Haddad says Michigan is a great location for film, TV and commercial production because of the state's diverse landscapes and metropolitan areas.
"Here we have a qualified crew base, qualified infrastructure in a global market we lose work," Haddad said. "So these these incentives are very important to make us competitive again."
The goal, he says, is to help Michigan compete with states that have similar incentives, like Georgia and Pennsylvania. According to the Michigan Film Industry Association, 40 states already have some kind of film tax incentive on the books.
"If it's Michigan talent, Michigan product, Michigan produced, you're going to save 30% on your tax credit," said state Rep. John Roth, who is a sponsor of the House bills. "We want to push for Michigan talent."
Previous film credits pulled money from Michigan's General Fund to pay for the incentives. This version would pay companies after filming and production are done.
"A movie was filmed at a Marina that I ran, and the movie was about $4 million, which is great, but they took $1 million out of the state to produce the film in a different state," Roth said. "We want to keep that right here."
But opponents of the bills say they feel they aren't different enough from the old incentives.
"It's having taxpayers pay up to 30% of a film production's expenditure. That's great for film producers, it is terrible for taxpayers, and it's also bad for the state economy as a whole," said James Hohman, director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "Every dollar that we're going to be handing over to film producers, that's a dollar that we're not going to be using to pave the roads, or to give schools, or to fix sewers. There are real costs for the proposal that they have, and all the changes that they've made to it don't make it a better deal for taxpayers."
