Excerpts from the article:
The House Taxation Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a package of bills aimed at luring filmmakers — and the money and jobs that come with them — to the state.
Janet Lockwood, who heads Michigan's Film Commission, predicted passage would increase the state's share of the $400 billion global movie business from $5 million to $20 million in the first year.
She said she recently received a call from a crew member of a film being shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, but was being filmed as though it was in Detroit. The caller wanted advice on how to get dozens of Michigan license plates to place on cars in Canada.
Other experts said Detroit-set films like "Four Brothers" and "Assault on Precinct 13" were shot entirely or primarily in Toronto, Ontario.
State Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, is the lead sponsor of the bills and said Michigan is one of the most financially restrictive states when it comes to filmmaking.
He said the local economy got an $800,000 boost over a few days when makers of the 2001 movie "Road to Perdition" took shots of the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Huizenga's proposals would give sales, use and single business tax credits to makers of movies, television programs and commercials that have production costs of more than $250,000; it would not apply to obscene works or to coverage of news or sporting events.
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