Michigan’s film tax incentives is helping local workers find jobs

For a long time Neal Garron was one of Michigan’s many unemployed. A husband and father of four, Garron, 40, had worked as an assistant in a recording studio making $9 an hour until he was laid off nearly two years ago.

Garron struggled to find another job and even considered starting his own business. “I thought I would start a small little studio in my house but nothing really came of it,” he said.

In the meantime, his wife Shelly worked two jobs to make ends meet. Then Garron heard a few advertisements on the radio for opportunities in the emerging film and entertainment industry in his area.

Thanks to generous tax incentives, many filmmakers have been encouraged to come to Michigan, bringing lot of film and television jobs with them. Programs like the ones at the Center for Film Studies and Film Industry Training help local job seekers learn the skills they need to be competitive for those jobs.

Using a loan from his wife’s 401(k), Garron signed up for a two-week course. It was a big gamble, but one that Garron was confident would pay off. His program led to a series of internships and also valuable contacts.

“It’s not like getting a job at a factory or something like that,” Garron explained. “It’s a who-you-know business.”

After the producer of an upcoming television show contacted him, Garron landed a job as a boom operator on set. Now he makes $31 an hour working full-time filming the show’s first season. Plans are in the works to shoot a second season after that. [read more]

Does this mean more “big budget” movies could be coming to Michigan:

Warner Bros Pictures announced they were pulling production of DC Comic’s Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds from Australia because of the faltering U.S. dollar. With the way the Australian dollar is performing compared to the US dollar and the financial gurus predicting it to climb to even or higher in the coming months, Warner Bros will be reconsidering all of its shoots there.  It is reported that the economic condition abroad could have add as much as $20 million to the films costs. [read more]

As the ongoing wrangling up in Lansing takes shape into it’s final weeks before passing the new budget, Michigan state House and Senate leaders passed some refinements that will cut by $50 million the state’s liability.  Details, the update to the film production legislation will eliminate tax breaks for below the line out-of-state workers, cap at $1 million wages for actors and producers eligible for credits and ties the credits to job creation and the building of infrastructure in the state. [read more]

Legislators are reviewing the Nancy Cassis’ ill advised destruction of the Michigan film industry. Please get on the phone to your representatives, the Governor’s office, your radio stations and television stations, websites, blogs and twitters and Facebooks! Stop the destruction of a burgeoning, clean, job creating, brain-drain reversing, tourism attracting Film Industry in Michigan:

Senator Nancy Cassis intros Bills to kill incentive Phone: (517) 373-1758 Fax: (517) 373-0938 senncassis@senate.michigan.gov

CONTACT THE CO-SPONSORS OF THE LEGISLATION AND TELL THEM TO KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF THE FILM INCENTIVE:

Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo
P.O. BOX 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
Phone: (517) 373-0793
Fax: (517) 373-5607
email

Judson Gilbert, R-Algonac
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
(517) 373-7708
1-877-GILBERT1-877-445-2378
(517) 373-1450
senjgilbert@senate.michigan.gov

Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi,
Senator Nancy Cassis
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
By Phone: (517) 373-1758
By Fax: (517) 373-0938
By Email: senncassis@senate.michigan.gov

Michael Switalski, D-Roseville,
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
Phone: 517-373-7315
Fax: 517-373-3126
http://www.senate.michigan.gov/switalski/pr.php?id=454

CONTACT REP. EILLEN KOWALL and tell her not to support the Cassis legislation.
Phone: 248-858-0100 (County); 248-887-3089 (home); Fax: 248-858-1572 (County)
E-mail: kowalle@oakgov.com

Additional from the MPA:
Sen. Nancy Cassis (Chairman Senate Finance Committee)
senncassis@senate.michigan.gov
FAX – 517/373-0938
Office no. – 517/373-1758

Finance Committee Members

Sen. Jud Gilbert (vice chair, R – 25th Dist., Algonac)
senjgilbert@senate.michigan.gov
Office no. 517/373-7708
FAX – 517/373-1450
District no. 810/794-3631

Sen. John Pappageorge (R – 13th Dist., Troy)
senjpappageorge@senate.michigan.gov
Office no. – 517/373-2523
FAX – 517/373-5669
Dist. no. – N/A

Sen. Mark Jansen (R-28th Dist., Grand Rapids)
senMJansen@senate.michigan.gov
PH – 517/373-0797
FX – 517/373-5236
Dist. no. – N/A

Sen. Gilda Jacobs (Minority Vice Chair, D-14th Dist., Huntington Woods)
sengjacobs@senate.michigan.gov
PH – 517/373-7888
FX – 517/373-2983

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D – 23rd Dist., E. Lansing)
sengwhitmer@senate.michigan.gov
PH – 517/373-1734
FX – 517/373-5397
Dist. No. – 517/333-3250

Sen. Deborah Cherry (D – 26th Dist., Burton)
senDCherry@senate.michigan.gov
PH – 517/373-1636
FX – 517/373-1453

Additional enemies of film incentives:

Sen. Mickey Switalski, (D – 10th Dist, Roseville)
senmswitalski@senate.michigan.gov
PH – 517/373-7315
FX – 517/373-3126
Dist. No. 586/734-2430

Rep. Pete Lund (R – 36th Dist., Shelby Twp.)
petelund@house.mi.gov
PH – 517/373-0843
FX – 517/373-5892
Dist. No. – 586/677-2175

All Senate snail mail should go to:
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536

House of Rep. mail should go to:
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514

Be Awesome!
Billy Whitehouse

So Granholm is proposing to cut the Michigan Film Incentives by 5 percent (from 42% to 37%) and Janet Lockwood states that so far for 2008 the state approved about $32 million in movie tax credits, less than the $45 million that was expected. Not sure where the proper thinking for Granholm is on this. I urge you all to write the Governor and let here know that “if you cap them you kill them, and if you cut them you kill them” it’s that simple.

Mlive.com Grand Rapids has a in-depth report on filmmaking’s impact to the local Michigan economy. They look at the Michigan Film Festival in Grand Rapids and talks to key people who will be on The Business and Finance of Filmmaking panel at the event.

“We see the bills come through on the audits. You wouldn’t believe how much these film productions pay for hotel rooms when they’re parked here for five weeks. It’s tens of thousands of dollars.” – Robert Schellenberg of Schellenberg & Evers, a CPA firm in Grand Rapids. [read more]

What I find when I look at the arguments is that there is no statistical way to prove in Michigan right now whether or not this program is successful — and that’s because the program is only a year and a half old,” – Robert Schellenberg of Schellenberg & Evers, a CPA firm in Grand Rapids. [read more]

The nice thing about the film industry is it doesn’t necessarily have to have bricks and mortar to build an infrastructure — the film industry is about people,” – Rob Visser, Berends Hendricks Stuit Insurance Agency Inc.’s [read more]