The study also found businesses such as hotels and restaurants experienced increases in business during and after film production in their area.
Since 2009, the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit has offered $40 million against the corporation franchise or income tax for movies shot in Ohio — $30 million in the 2010 and 2011 and $10 million each for this year and the fiscal year beginning in July.
Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, and Rep. Mike Dovilla, R-Berea, said Wednesday they plan to introduce companion bills that would raise the tax credit cap to $20 million a year in 2013 and 2014.
Patton said the additional $10 million each year would come from the general revenue fund.
Twenty-seven productions have taken advantage of the credit — 16 projects have been shot in northeast Ohio.
Locally, the George Clooney political thriller “The Ides of March” was filmed around southwest Ohio and spent five days shooting on the campus of Miami University, which was even named in the film.
The five-day production has an estimated impact of $240,000 on the community said Diana Durr, executive director of the Oxford Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Neither Miami nor the city of Oxford were paid for the filming, but both were acknowledged in the film’s credits.
“It was good that both were named in the film and it was a revenue for the city,” Durr said. “There were no problems while the filming was conducted here. The crew was a delight to work with.”
Durr said some of the crew stayed in Oxford during the shoot, while others, including Clooney, traveled back and forth from Cincinnati.
Durr said the only other film to be shot on Miami’s campus was the 1991 drama “Little Man Tate.” She said so far there have been no other inquiries about shooting in Oxford or on Miami’s campus.
Ohio competes with 37 other states that have film industry tax credits. Neighboring Pennsylvania caps its incentive program at $60 million and earns $4.02 for every dollar, according to the Cleveland State study.
Michigan drastically reduced its film incentive last year and placed a $25 million cap on the program to avoid a budget deficit.
Film industry advocates say Ohio stole away business from Michigan, including “The Avengers,” which filmed in Cleveland and Wilmington.
Ohio’s credit is equal to 25 percent of in-state spending and non-Ohio resident wages and 35 percent of resident wage expenses, up to $5 million per production.
In Ohio, nine out of every 10 film industry jobs went to residents, but most were working as extras, which earned $172 on average, according to the study. The average wage for non-Ohioans was $37,127, which study authors said is likely skewed toward “high-priced Hollywood talent.”
More money for tax credits is one tool Ohio can use to build a strong film industry that employs Ohioans, said Ivan Schwarz, executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, which funded the study.
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