Is Michigan’s film incentive too costly for the state?

michigan

We have reported on the Michigan film incentives in the past, however new studies show that the film incentives offered by the state might be doing more harm than good.

According to a new study conducted by the Senate Fiscal Agency, Michigan paid nearly twice as much money in film incentives as the industry brought into the state the past two years.

The findings from the study show that over the past two years Michigan has invested $137.5 million in attracting Hollywood productions, however they have only been able to generate $80.6 million in private sector activity.

While the film industry does seem to be a financial benefit to the private sector, the benefits just don’t justify the cost of the program to the state. According to Republican Rick Snyder, “This is just a tax incentive that is just not financially feasible over the long term.”

Currently the tax incentives subsidizes the direct cost of the production of movies and television shows by up to 42 percent. Since the creation in 2008, the film credit has been able to attract more than 100 projects to the state, as well as bring several Hollywood celebrities.

We will keep you up to date on any developments in the tax incentives surrounding the movie industry in Michigan and what it will mean for movie fans in the state.

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