Film Incentive Program a Go

by Jaime Pfeffer

April 17th, 2008 in Careers, Creative, Entertainment, Film, Green, Jobs

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In case you haven’t heard, last week Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law the most aggressive film industry incentive program in the United States.

As Nev explained in this recent post, the lucrative legislation package includes a number of incentives, including:

-A 40% refundable tax credit (42% in core cities) against Michigan Business Tax (MBT) liability for qualified film or digital media pre-production, production, and postproduction costs incurred in Michigan;

-A 50% refundable MBT tax credit for expenditures incurred by an eligible production company to provide on-the-job training for Michigan residents in advanced below-the-line crew positions on qualified productions;

-A 25% tax credit against MBT tax liability for film/digital media infrastructure investment of $250,000 or more.

Complete details of all incentives are detailed on MichiganFilmProduction.com.

It’s only been a week, but the new incentives seem to already be doing their magic; according to the Governor’s weekly radio address:

“Each year, the Michigan Film Office averages six scripts from companies interested in filming in Michigan. Today, we’re reviewing nearly 80 scripts from companies interested in doing business in Michigan.”

Yeah, I’d say 80 in one day compared to 6 in an entire year is quite a difference. I also like the fact that if the incentives do work and producers select Michigan for upcoming films and TV shows, they will bring high-quality jobs to Michigan residents — and fast. Also in her April 11 radio address, Granholm noted that the film industry is the second largest high-tech, high-paying, non-polluting industry in the world and generates over $50 billion in direct domestic economic activity each year. It can give Michigan’s economy an immediate shot in the arm while it takes years to reap the benefits of other economic development incentives.

One of Detroit's biggest cheerleaders, Jaime Pfeffer moved to the Motor City from suburban Detroit five years ago. She started a blog, Girl in the D, in September 2004 to promote the positive aspects of Detroit and hasn't stopped touting Motown's good side since. Jaime left corporate America in 2007 to pursue her first love, writing.