MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS MAY PUT BRAKES ON FILM TAX BREAKS

Despite the fact that Michigan’s lucrative tax incentive programs have resulted in $224 million being spent on productions last year and an estimated $400 million this year, a report by the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency has concluded that the credits generate only a small amount of tax revenue from production activity. The report concluded that while the state spent $68.7 million of tax credits for the film industry last year, it got back only $7.5 million in tax revenue. But the Michigan Film Office has responded that appraising the tax credits based only on the amount the state receives in tax revenue is “misleading” and ignores the positive job growth and opportunities for small business that attracting the film business to the state brings about, Carrie Jones, Michigan’s Film Office director, told today’s (Wednesday) Los Angeles Times.