Economic consultant tells Michigan lawmakers incentives vary; urges care before reviving film credit

Patrick Anderson, president of the Anderson Economic Group, told a Michigan House subcommittee on March 19 that state tax incentives show "wide variation in the effectiveness of the programs" and urged lawmakers to carefully tailor incentives to support long‑lasting business activity.

Anderson said his firm's review, including a 2010 study of Michigan programs, identified some incentives that were effectively equivalent to a modest across‑the‑board tax rate cut and others that were poor investments. "We found some that were completely effective," he said. He singled out PA 198 as "still, very important" and said the state would have "great difficulty having industrial activity in Michigan without a PA 198." He contrasted that with what he called the "notorious film incentive," which he said became a "poster child for untrammeled waste of taxpayer money." "If you're not building long lasting economic activity in the…