Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will sign tax reform bill Wednesday
Update: The bills were signed this afternoon, and the new tax law takes effect Jan. 1.
Gov. Rick Snyder this afternoon will make official a Michigan budget that scraps a controversial business tax but then created controversy over taxing pensions and cutting school funding.
Republican Rick Snyder, debates Democrat Virg Bernero at the Detroit Public Broadcast studio in Wixom, Mich., Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. A new poll released Sunday shows Snyder with a 20-point lead just three weeks before the Nov. 2 election. (AP Photo/Mandi Wright, Pool)
Snyder unveiled the plans in the months after he took office on Jan. 1, and they narrowly passed both the state House of Representatives and Senate.
The tax reform eliminates the Michigan Business Tax, cuts exemptions for individuals, and eliminates many credits, including the Earned Income Tax credit for low-income wage-earners and donations to community foundations.
Comments
Diagenes
Fri, May 27, 2011 : 2:23 a.m.
People seem to think the State owes them something. Wages in the private sector are a mutual agreement by the employer and the employee. If you are not satisfied with the amount you earn go somewhere else. No business can succeed if wages are not in balance with productivity. Want to earn more, find someone who will pay you more, or start your own business and then save for your own retirement. Public sector workers need to balance their wages and benefits against the ability of the state to tax its citizens and competing demands on the limited resources. Raise taxes too high, people and capital flow to other states. The flight from California to Texas is a current example. The result is a stagnent or declining economy. Gov. Snyder and the legislature is trying to strike a balance between taxation and spending. The right balance will stimulate economic growth which will produce more revenue. A rising economic tide will lift a lot of boats. Both private and public sector boats.
Mike K
Fri, May 27, 2011 : 11:28 a.m.
Great post, but it will miss many who are beholden to their ideology.
Dennis
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 6:06 p.m.
Enjoy i t Rick! Your time is limited and WE will reverse your damage when you're gone.
mojo
Fri, May 27, 2011 : 11:05 a.m.
Yea - Granholm was so much better - with the loss of million jobs and raising taxes and generating a Single State recession that still exists - that was so much better.
Mike K
Thu, May 26, 2011 : 10:29 p.m.
No damage has been reversed by anyone to date. How did we get here?
snapshot
Thu, May 26, 2011 : 6:39 a.m.
dream on. What is it about Snyder getting the majority vote you don't get?
iambrokenow
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 5:56 p.m.
Inviting people to leave Michigan is THE attitude that WILL provoke great people to do just that. If that's how UNCARING this state has become, who wants to live around that? Don't slap someone for making a smarter life choice!! NOTHING will improve here! This was NOT a budget cut! The WAS NOT a spending cut! This IS a tax shift, so that, as the article says: "The tax reform eliminates the Michigan Business Tax." He did this with NOTHING stating that the Business MUST increase their staff - and offer those jobs he said this would create. People worked all their life for "less" wages, most employers didn't offer a 401K plan, but some employers were able to compensate via Pension benefits. So people accepted the lesser wages knowing they could count on their pension and social security when they retired, they paid into it all their working life! It's theirs! They OWN it! STEALING is never right, no matter how you go about getting it. Stealing from our seniors and our children is NOT "fair share." It's a sad day.
Forever27
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 3:14 p.m.
Voodoo Economics is alive and well in Michigan.
Responsible Spending
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 2:38 p.m.
Like it or not, big business goes where the tax base is the lowest. These changes will help Michigan attract new industries and create jobs. More jobs = better economy. We voted him in to get the state back on track and that is what he is doing. Rick keep up the good work.
Forever27
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 3:15 p.m.
that's a great philosophy if we don't opperate in a global economy. No matter how low we cut business taxes, they will always be able to leave the country for even lower rates. Eventually you have to realize that you get what you pay for. If we want to have a "competetive" tax enviornment we have to sacrifice decent pay for everyone but the top 1%, which it appears we are more than willing to do.
Lionel Hutz
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 2:21 p.m.
The governor has done a tremendous job in his first five months. While no one likes budget cuts and increased taxes, he has structurally balanced the budget and set Michigan on a course for future growth.
Charlie Brown's Ghost
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
Like any addict trying - or forced - to get off his drug of choice, it will be painful. But this pain is not the fault of the doctor who is trying to make sure the addict actually has a chance at a future. It's the fault of the addict and the excesses of his past. All this Snyderhate is irrational, though at the same time certainly not unexpected from and not untypical of the extreme left.
Basic Bob
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 12:56 p.m.
For those who think it is time to leave Michigan because the free ride is over, just go and don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Forever27
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 3:11 p.m.
by "free-ride" do you mean education funding and actually taxing businesses that opperate within, and thus benefit from the services of, the state?
Bogie
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 12:35 p.m.
Wow. This bill is archaic. Imagine all corporations; private companies, citizens, and retirees paying a similiar percentage of their income in taxes! I propose, that the state government increase taxes on those, who are making "excessive" amounts of money, and let the Governor choose a few industries to subsidize. LOL. All this grumbling, when there are states in this country, that operate without a state income tax. You probably know them-They are the places your neighbors are moving to.
arborani
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 12:31 p.m.
The cuttting of school clothing subsidies for needy children is about the most mean-spirited action I can think of. ($80 per child per year was apparently too generous and "subject to abuse" [!])
antikvetch
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 12:10 p.m.
Yeah! A new excuse for the same 25 knee-jerk anti-Snyder folks to spew the same cliches! My morning is complete-
Domey
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 12:08 p.m.
Feast your eyes on the future! The Genie has been out of the bottle for a while now so expect things to change more and more, and to enjoy it less and less because less is what you will have. All hail corpo-government!
mitch
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 11:41 a.m.
i'll be first in line to sign the recall!!!!
Forever27
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 3:09 p.m.
How about we put our efforts toward nominating an electable candidate instead?
Cash
Wed, May 25, 2011 : 12:03 p.m.
Right behind you.