Why are the Film Incentives so Important?

Earlier this week, the film “Five Year Engagement” starring Jason Segal and Emily Blunt was approved for filming in Michigan. This makes it the first film to do so since Governor Rick Snyder proposed massive cuts to the film incentives and a yearly cap of 25 million dollars. Even though most Michigan residents have heard about the incentives and the planned cuts many seem to be unaware of what the incentives do, and what dialing them back would entail.

The incentives began three years ago as a Republican bill that found support from Governor Jennifer Granholm. These measures give tax breaks to film, television, and commercial projects that decide to film within Michigan. Although 43 other states have similar measures, Michigan has, by far, the most extensive.

Since they were enacted in 2008, over 7,000 production jobs have been created in addition to 4,000 acting jobs for extras and day players. This doesn’t include the many peripheral jobs ranging from hotels to grocery stores that have been created or supported by the addition of this influx of new businesses.

 Snyder claims that Michigan no longer can afford the incentives, citing the 1.4 billion dollar deficit. He also says the incentives aren't needed because his plan to drastically lower corporate taxes on all businesses would still provide a good atmosphere to do business in Michigan.

“It’s a bad idea in that it’s a burgeoning industry that we’ve got going in Michigan and it’s an opportunity to grow more jobs,” said Rick Hert of The West Michigan Film Office. “My problem with [these cutbacks] is that we’ve never given it a chance to get off the ground.“

“If [the cap] remains at 25 million,” continued Hert, “we won’t have enough momentum or force to grow a new industry here… It’s a tourism issue, it’s an economic development issue, it’s a marketing issue for the state, and it’s an opportunity to work with the local business community.”

Many in the film industry said that cuts to the incentives would make them pull projects out of the state. The filmmakers behind the big budget blockbuster “The Avengers” decided to go elsewhere simply at the mention of Snyder’s proposed cuts. 

“It would be a catastrophe,” says producer Randall Emmett, who has shot six films in the state. “[We would] try and continue shooting in Michigan because of a commitment I’ve made to the community, but with caps or cuts to the incentives, we could be forced to go somewhere else.”

Without economic growth and the influx of new businesses here, we simply won’t have the tax base to allow for Michigan to stay where it is, much-less climb out of the slump that has been gripping the state. As opposed to trying to prop up older industries that are already struggling, or hoping to lure new industries here, the film incentives are already bringing new healthy businesses here and have, thus far, been proven a success. Keeping the film incentives intact seem to be Michigan’s best hope for growth.