Film Studio Moving to Midtown Detroit (Allen Park, Republic: leases, credit, bankrupt)

[ForStarters]

Unity Studios Moving to Detroit’s Creative Corridor (http://unitystudiosmichigan.com/2010/09/unity-studios-moving-to-detroit/ - broken link)

Formerly in Allen Park, Unity Studios is relocating to Midtown Detroit and is looking to set up new facilities near TechTown. Making the film industry a permanent Detroit fixture is great stuff.

[ForStarters]

Crain's Detroit Business is announcing Wonderstruck Studios, a digital annimation company is moving to Downtown Detroit to the office space attached to Ford Field:
Wonderstruck Studios leases space at Ford Field, source says - Detroit News and Information - Crain's Detroit Business

And the train just keeps on-a rolling...

[Retroit]

Imagine how many other businesses in other industries we'd be able to attract and retain if we gave them a 42% tax cut.

[scolls]

Originally Posted by Retroit

Imagine how many other businesses in other industries we'd be able to attract and retain if we gave them a 42% tax cut.

Imagine how bankrupt the state would be since Michigan is losing money by giving these tax cuts.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by scolls

Imagine how bankrupt the state would be since Michigan is losing money by giving these tax cuts.

True, the state is making an investment. The subsidy was necessary to attract the companies to come here and do business, now they are setting up permanent facilities. Not to mention that these "brick-and-mortar" studios are a collateral consequence of the film tax credit, i.e. the credit does not require them to take up permanent residence, but that's what's happening. Eventually, they will be worth more than the state gives them in terms of employment, local investment, and doing business in the community. And in a few years, the state can slowly wean them off of the incentives.

IMO, the state should be doing this with every emerging industry, one at a time of course. I like biotech and microprocessing for the future. Other states are doing such things, and Michigan has to compete. In the long-run, this will be one of the only good decisions Grandholm made.

[Retroit]

The state is already losing money because we are not as business friendly as other states (or countries, but that is a much bigger issue). You attract business and thus increase revenue when you lower taxes. I think it should be done for all industries immediately. Not necessarily a 42% rebate(or whatever it is), but enough that we can draw businesses here.

Unfortunately, by granting these rebates to one industry, you place a place a burden on other industries that do not receive such rebates, and that is very unfair and un-American in my opinion.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by Retroit

The state is already losing money because we are not as business friendly as other states (or countries, but that is a much bigger issue). You attract business and thus increase revenue when you lower taxes. I think it should be done for all industries immediately. Not necessarily a 42% rebate(or whatever it is), but enough that we can draw businesses here.

Unfortunately, by granting these rebates to one industry, you place a place a burden on other industries that do not receive such rebates, and that is very unfair and un-American in my opinion.

Retroit, what's American is free competition. States compete by way of taxes and tax credits. Michigan is finally starting to compete. The film tax credits make other states with tax credits squirm. Michigan is a sovereign business. It has a balance sheet (budget), an elected board of executives (legislators), and shareholders (taxpayers). Forcing the tax rate to be equal with everyone else is what is unAmerican. It is a free market, and if you to succeed you do what it takes to improve your earnings. That article I posted about the film studio was looking at moving to Indiana, China, Korea, and Detroit. Well, Michigan and Detroit competed, and we won. That is what makes America great. Forget about this stupid Republican/Democrat nonsense. This is about Metro Detroit succeeding, and in this instance, we did.

[Retroit]

So you would have no problem with the government arbitrarily giving your next door neighbor a 42% tax cut, but prohibiting you from the same?

That is socialism, not democracy. Michigan is not a business, it is a government, instituted by the people to protect the rights of everyone.

How will you feel when other states give better incentives than Michigan and these companies move out and we are left with a bunch of abandoned studios? Haven't we learned the mistakes we made with the auto industry (don't favor one industry at the expense of others)?