Archive for category Michigan

Research from Michael Thom analyzes a variety of programs Last year Michigan lawmakers wisely did away with what was once the most generous film incentive program in the nation. Mackinac Center research showed that despite giving film producers half a billion dollars from 2007 to 2013, there were no signs that the film industry in Michigan was […]

Jarrett Skorup On July 10, 2015, Michigan was officially out of the business of handing out film subsidies. A bill supported by nearly every Republican in the House and Senate (and joined by one Democratic House member) prevents the state film office from handing out any new incentives. This is quite a turnaround for the […]

Studies show a lack of positive economic impact Posted by James M. Hohman on August 3, 2015 at 3:30pm Neal Rubin laments the elimination of Michigan’s film incentive at The Detroit News. But he paints a false picture of the scholarship on this subsidy. The incentives work — 37 other states currently have them — but at a […]

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Friday that ends Michigan’s film incentive program to grow the state’s movie industry, but keeps the Michigan Film Office, at least for now. House Bill 4122, now Public Act 117 of 2015, means an incentive program that helped attract major Hollywood stars and top directors to Michigan […]

(Bloomberg) — Michigan’s cash credits for filmmakers have lured George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Drew Barrymore to make movies and splash headlines in a state known for making cars. The Republican-led Michigan House of Representatives voted this month to end the incentives, marking the first time either legislative chamber voted to kill a program that’s […]

Kathleen Gray, Michigan.com LANSING – The $50 million in annual incentives given to the film industry were described Wednesday as everything from a scene from the movie “The Money Pit” to one of the best advertisements for Michigan. But in the end, the House of Representatives voted 58-51, on a mostly party-line vote, to end the […]

By Dave Herndon Last week the State House Tax Policy Committee voted 8-3 to advance a bill to the House floor that will end state subsidies to film producers. The Committee moved House Bill 4122 on with a recommendation to pass it. Over the seven years since the subsidies were introduced the state has spent […]

By Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau LANSING – There are three Cs that are essential to making any movie: Cost, convenience and creativity. California beats Michigan out for convenience. But Michigan has the other two of those down cold, said Vans Stevenson, senior vice president for state government affairs at the Motion Picture […]

Robby Soave Economics 101 Even though Michigan’s film incentive program is widely considered to be a monumental failure, there are evidently still some politicians in the state legislature that want to keep cutting checks to Hollywood. House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, a Democrat, is attempting to restore $12 million in funding to the sycophantic subsidy, according […]