Michigan plans to create a whole new industry in the state with tax credits for movie and video production. The Senate Fiscal Agency concluded, “the fiscal impact of the bills is such that the tax revenue generated from the additional activity would be unlikely to offset completely, or in some cases, even offset significantly, the cost of the proposed credits and deductions, even over the long run.” The Mackinac Center says the economic impact will be barely noticeable.
Reality doesn’t deter supporters, however, as this snip from the Detroit Free Press illustrates.
The state’s Film Office Director Janet Lockwood said Friday that 60 scripts have been submitted for review and potential qualification for incentives in just the last three weeks — since it became clear the legislation would become law. That compares to a pre-incentive pace of about a half-dozen per year, Lockwood said.
“We already have a film in pre-production,” she said, “People are pulling shoots out of other states … and moving them here. We have the best incentives in America, at least for now.”
One of the bill’s main sponsors demonstrates the bad assumptions leading to the giveaway: “We’re in a state of economic crisis. People are looking for immediate answers,” the paper quote Andy Meisner saying. “This is an immediate boost. It’s very real and more tangible than many of the other things we do.”
So they’re paying for rocks to break regular windows and replacing them with stained glass — Mr. T approves.
