Taxes and Revenue
Replacing Revenue Key to Successful Personal Property Tax Overhaul
Following months of speculation about a proposal to reduce or eliminate the Personal Property Tax, Senate Bills 1065–1072 were introduced April 17, 2012, to dramatically reduce the PPT. Read more.
Fact Sheet: Michigan’s Business Tax on Personal Property
Michigan’s Personal Property Tax is eyed for elimination or reduction. It’s a tax on property that’s not attached to a structure, such as equipment, tools and furniture. Read more.
MLHS Opposes S. B. 351
Earmaking the sales tax for roads is bad policy. The state needs to modernize the gasoline tax instead of redirecting funds from the sales tax used to fund general government operations. Read more
Executive Budget FY 2013: Second Verse Same as the First
Gov. Snyder’s second Executive Budget recommendation is primarily a continuation budget from Fiscal Year 2012, but it does contain some small increases in funding for important public structures and programs. The state ended FY 11 with an approximate $700 million surplus between the School Aid Fund and the General Fund. The Executive Budget recommends appropriating $130 million into the Budget Stabilization Fund rather than using it to help families still struggling to recover from the economic downturn. Read more.
Tax Changes Hit Low-Income Families the Hardest
Michigan’s wealthiest households — the top 1 percent — will be barely touched by income tax changes approved last year by Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature, while all other groups will pay substantially more. February 2012.
Read the report.
Read the executive summary.
Read the fact sheet.
Updated Fact Sheet: The Big Tax Shift
New tax changes cut business tax revenues by 83 percent while increasing individual income tax revenues by 23 percent. Business taxes are expected to decline by $1.6 billion. An estimated 95,000 businesses will no longer have to file business income taxes and most will see a decrease. At the same time, individual income taxes will increase by $1.4 billion. This will impact seniors, working families and low-income households. October 2011. Read the fact sheet.
Letter to Michigan Congressional delegation on Balanced Budget Amendment
The Michigan League for Human Services sent the following letter to the Michigan Congressional delegation on July 18, 2011. “A balanced budget constitutional amendment would damage the economy, not strengthen it. Demanding that policymakers cut spending and/or raise taxes, even when the economy slows, is the opposite of what is needed to stabilize a weak economy and avert recessions….” Read the letter.
Senate-Passed Plan Preserves the Spirit of the EITC
The Senate-approved tax plan preserves a portion of the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which had earlier been slated for elimination.
The credit would be 6 percent of the federal EITC, as opposed to 20 percent as the credit stands now.
“This measure preserves the spirit of the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit,” said Gilda Z. Jacobs, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Human Services.
Read the full press release here.
*More information at www.saveoureitc.com
Proposed tax plan hits poor people 10 times harder
Michigan has a regressive tax system, meaning that lower-income people pay a bigger share of their income in state and local taxes than higher-income people.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan would make it even more regressive, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington D.C.-based nonpartisan think tank. In fact, the impact on Michigan’s poorest households will be more than 10 times greater than the impact on the wealthiest households.
Read the fact sheet and press release.
*New! Viewpoint on EITC in Oakland Press
*League statement – Don’t Kill the Michigan EITC–It’s Just Not Fair
* See Fact Sheet: The Michigan EITC and Taxes Paid by Working Families
* Poll: Three out of four voters support EITC
* New! Gilda Z. Jacobs commentary in the Detroit Free Press
For more information, go to our EITC page or visit www.saveoureitc.com
Executive Budget Cuts Will Hurt Families
The League’s analysis of Governor Snyder’s first proposed budget and his tax proposals finds that Michigan’s most vulnerable families will be hurt. April 2011. Read the report.
Fact Sheet: Big Tax Shift
Governor Snyder’s proposed tax changes cut business taxes while increasing individual income taxes. March 2011 (See updated Big Tax Shift)
States Continue to Feel Recession’s Impact
by the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities — Jan. 21, 2011
Fact sheet: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop?
Lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder could ease the fiscal year 2012 budget gap by $162 million simply by hitting the pause button on a scheduled income tax reduction that begins Oct. 1, 2011.
In 2007, the Michigan Legislature temporarily raised the income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent in an effort to keep up with vital services ro residents. Read the fact sheet.
Congress needs to help Michigan families
When Congress returns from its Labor Day break, it needs to focus on those struggling in Michigan’s difficult economy. The League has joined the Center for Civil Justice in creating fact sheets on pressing issues before Congress.
- Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Ensuring nourishing meals for needy children Congress should not take from needy families to pay for improvements in child nutrition. Read more>>
- Recovery Act Tax Credits for Families Congress should make permanent tax credits for lower-income families trying to make ends meet in this recession. Read more>>
- Read the letter signed by 25 organizations urging the extension of family tax credits. Read more>>
- TANF Emergency Fund: Critical to families in time of need With the ongoing recession and double-digit unemployment, Michigan needs additional fiscal relief. Read more>>
- Read the letters signed by 44 organizations urging the extension of TANF Emergency Funds. Letter to U.S. Sens. Levin and Stabenow | Letter to Michigan’s U.S. House delegation
NEW! A viewpoint on federal tax credits from Sharon Parks ran in the Detroit Free Press Aug. 26. Read more
Fact Sheet: Recovery Act Tax Credits for Families
There are two refundable federal tax credits that were expanded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). These expansions gave families more generous refunds on their Tax Year 2009 taxes than they would have received otherwise. – Aug 10, 2010 Read the fact sheet.
Letter to Michigan’s Congressional delegation urging fair tax policy for low-income families
The Michigan League for Human Services and 25 others signed a letter to the Michigan Congressional delegation urging that Congress permanently extend policies that support low- and middle-income families and encourage work. read more>>
The Michigan League for Human Services supports the “Comeback Plan” by A Better Michigan Future to help turn our state around.
A Better Michigan Future has a four-point plan: Implement a graduated income tax, audit government contracts, close tax loopholes & giveaways and modernize the state’s sales tax. For more information… click here>>
To read a letter about ABMF to members, click here>>
Silent and Stealthy: Michigan Gives Away $35 Billion a Year
Tax expenditures quietly drain the state of billions of dollars in revenue every year, $35 billion in fiscal year 2009 alone, approximately four times the state’s general fund budget that year. Ending some tax expenditures can be part of a balanced approach to closing the budget gap and would increase revenue without a general tax increase. read more>> press release>>
Facts Matter
Facts Matter is a series of briefs highlighting Michigan’s budget and tax system.
- The Budget Deficit: It’s Not Just the Economy [PDF]
- Sales Tax on Services: Modernizing the Revenue Structure [PDF]
- Income Tax: It’s Time for the Flat Tax to Go [PDF]
- Senior Tax Preferences: Can Michigan Afford Such Generosity? [PDF]
- Beer Tax: Held Harmless for Forty Years [PDF]
- Estate Taxes: Michigan Stands to Gain Revenue [PDF]
- Tax Expenditures: Silently Draining the State Budget [PDF]
- Prison Spending: Corrections Takes Big Bite of Budget [PDF]
Testimony before the House Tax Policy Committee June 10, 2009 [PDF] [Word] [Powerpoint Presentation]
From Poodle Cuts to Pedicures: Why We Need a Sales Tax on Services
High unemployment and the prolonged recession mean the needs of Michigan’s families are growing just as the state has fewer resources to help them. It’s apparent that a more balanced approach is needed when it comes to revenue. Michigan needs a better alternative to a cuts-only approach and temporary tax increases. One solution is to modernize Michigan’s antiquated sales tax. read more>>
Putting Michigan’s Fiscal House in Order
About 100 attended the League’s Dec. 3 public policy forum in person and through a Webcast. The PowerPoints from two presenters are linked below. Click here to read an Associated Press story about the event. Click here to watch a rebroadcast of the forum.
Michigan’s State Earned Income Tax Credit: Year One
With the first tax year for Michigan’s new Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) now over, data, show that approximately 702,000 filers received the credit. The average credit for a single parent with two children working full time at minimum wage was approximately $478. Read more.
