Michigan Senator Proposes Reinstating Game Tax Credit At Lower Rates

Just days after a new budget severely scaled back Michigan's film and video game tax credit program, a state senator is looking to reinstate the full credit program at somewhat reduced rates. The new proposal from Republican Senate majority leader Randy Richardville would provide film and game production companies tax credits worth 27 to 30 percent of expenditures spent in Michigan, with a bonus for firms based in the state. That's a steep drop from the old tax credit program -- one of the nation's most generous -- that provided unlimited credits for up to 42 percent of in-state expenditures. However, it would be a substantial increase from the program that Michigan governor Rick Snyder signed into law earlier this week, which made credit rates negotiable and placed a hard $25 million cap across all entertainment projects. "We are trying to provide incentives for Michigan businesses, a re-educated Michigan workforce and also the [production] infrastructure in Michigan,” Richardville told AnnArbor.com. "Let’s put a structure together that’s competitive with the rest of the country, and then decide if we can afford to keep the industry." While 130 entertainment projects have seen $628 million in savings since the entertainment tax credits were introduced in 2008, those numbers include just one game project, Pixofactor's Ben Hogan Golf, which received less than half a million dollars in tax relief.