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Michigan reconsiders subsidy programs for the film industry

Hollywood on the dole: Draw the curtain on filmmaker subsidies http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/03/hollywood_dole Senate approves $50M cap on NM film subsidies http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9M0DCRO2.htm Lights. Camera. Stop the film subsidies action. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/02/19/lights_camera_stop_the_film_subsidies_action/ Hollywood's disc problem: Video nasty http://www.economist.com/node/18388998 Michigan Movie Magazine http://www.michiganmoviemagazine.biz/ Amidst many programs designed to deal with the fiscal realities of tightening state budgets, some policymakers and legislators are reconsidering the practice of offering subsidies to film production companies. Recently, the state of Michigan has been contemplating abolishing their 42% tax credit for film production; effectively rolling back what are unlimited industry rebates to an annual cap of $25 million. Michigan's new governor, Rick Snyder, proposed the cut in his most recent budget proposal, and some have responded quite negatively to this proposal. A number of prominent local personages have spoken out against the cut, including best-selling author Mitch Albom, who pointed out in a committee hearing last week that the film and television business in the state grew from $2 million in $225 million in two years. Currently there are 43 studios with pending applications to film in Michigan, and the Michigan Film Office cannot approve them until a final decision is reached by the legislature, which may not come until late May. Nationwide, there is significant debate about the true long term benefits of such subsidies, and other states (such as New Mexico) are also considering gradually reducing or eliminating these tax benefits entirely. The first link will take interested parties to a piece from Fortune, which describes the proposed program to scale back subsidies for film production companies in the Wolverine State. The second link leads to a recent piece from The Economist which argues against providing subsidies to such endeavors. The third link will take visitors to an article from last week's Bloomberg Businessweek which reports on New Mexico's recent decision to cap film production studies. Moving on, the fourth link will take users to a Boston Globe editorial by Professor Peter Enrich in which he argues for an end to film production subsidies in Massachusetts. The fifth link leads to a piece from The Economist which talks about how the movie industry itself should focus more on digital distribution, rather than to continue to rely on their work renting film to cinema chains and shipping DVDs and such to retailers and the remaining rental outlets. The final link will take visitors to the online home of the Michigan Movie Magazine, which provides industry news about film productions and related matters in the state.
Alternate Title
Michigan's next big blow: The film industry
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Date Issued
March 26th, 2011
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Date of Scout Publication
March 25th, 2011
Date Of Record Creation
March 25th, 2011 at 11:10am
Date Of Record Release
March 26th, 2011 at 2:24pm
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