Snyder Opposes Ending Film Tax Credit

Legislation up for a vote in the state House this week would end Michigan’s film tax incentive program at the end of September and the repeal is expected to pass.

But the move may not doom the incentive program.

New Senate Republican leader Arlan Meekhof recently indicated he supports the movie credit suggesting it would send the wrong signal to other businesses to have Michigan renege on a promise it made to help the industry.

Governor Rick Snyder proposed a $50 million tax credit this year and he shows no signs of backing off. In fact in clear terms, the governor contends the House repeal measure is not the appropriate answer.

Snyder did not support the movie credit that he inherited from former Governor Jennifer Granholm, but he thinks cutting it off now would be unfair. He says that as the industry becomes established in Michigan the tax credit could be phased out.

Sponsors of the measure say hard-to-predict tax credits can be a great burden on a state budget that has already seen cuts this year because of revenue shortfalls.