The Michigan film incentive brought one Los Angeles producer and his family to northern Michigan.
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TRAVERSE CITY -- With Michigan's film incentive package underway, film makers receive a refundable tax credit for 40% of production costs spent here in the state.
This offer which was signed into last April, caught the attention of one Los Angeles producer who moved his family to northern Michigan.
Bill Latka and his wife Renee lived in Los Angeles for the past 20 years and owned a television production company. But just a few weeks ago they moved their family and business across the country to start a new life.
"Moving to Traverse City was mostly a quality of life issue, also to be closer to my family. But when we found out about Michigan's tax incentive, the Michigan production tax incentive we decided that it was a perfect time to move here...and we want to be the beginning of this influx of work, which I know is going to come and actually we're here to help make it happen."
Latka says the benefits of the film incentive including a refundable tax credit for 40% of production costs caught his attention.
"We've done shows for the Discovery Channel and Science Channel and have clients all over the country and for them it doesn't matter where we produce these shows...I'd rather be sitting here editing for months with a view of the bay or the view of the woods in this case, instead of some dumpy little place in Los Angeles," says Latka.
"I think there is so much un-tapped talent in this area and my husband and I would really like to tap some of that talent," says Renee Latka.
The Latka's are also trying to entice other film production companies to jump on board.
"I have a friend in Montreal who has an animation company and they are seriously looking at moving a big chunk of the company to Michigan because of the production tax incentive...it's a really well thought out incentive and time will tell about how it's going to work for the state, but I think it's going to be terrific," says Latka.
Bill Latka says he's already in the process of fundraising for a movie planned on being filmed in northern Michigan. He says with the tax incentive and the location, he sees the movie being a hit.
