Tagged: earned income tax credit

Policymakers debate how to spend surplus

The debate continues in Lansing over how the state should spend almost half a billion dollars in unexpected revenue this year. The Michigan League for Public Policy believes that because the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit is less than a third of what it was a couple years ago, legislators should restore the credit for the working poor.

"A spokesperson for state House Democrats says they support the idea of using some of the money to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit. However, Governor Rick Snyder says a similar tax credit from the federal government does enough to help working poor families in Michigan. He wants to use the extra cash to fix roads," Michigan Radio's Jake Neher reports.

Merger between Beaumont and Henry Ford sacked

The planned merger between Beaumont and Henry Ford health systems, two of southeast Michigan’s largest health care providers, has been scrapped. The leaders of each hospital signed a letter of intent to merge last fall, but negotiations didn’t work out so well. On Tuesday, Henry Ford CEO Nancy Schlichting sent a letter to employees, indicating they’ll end talks and let the agreement expire.

“It became apparent that two very different perspectives have emerged for the new organization between Henry Ford and Beaumont,” Schlichting wrote. Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek has more.

Rising car sales cut plant shutdowns

Summer vacation will be cut short for auto factory workers in Michigan this year, as carmakers try to keep up with heightened demand. Detroit automakers plan to reduce their annual shutdowns at dozens of North American plants that produce popular Ford and Chrysler models.

“This sends a strong signal that the industry is in a healthy place,” Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at market researcher LMC Automotive, told The Detroit News.

A group that advocates for working poor families in Michigan says the state should use a recent tax windfall to restore low income tax credits. Last week, the state announced it expects to receive close to half-a-billion dollars more than originally thought this year.

Gilda Jacobs, with the Michigan League for Public Policy, says it makes sense to give some of that money back to low-income taxpayers.

“In part, one of the reasons that there are greater revenues is because the tax burden, the tax shift, was shifted back to low- and middle-income people and seniors,” she said.

She says working poor families have been negatively affected.

“And there is an opportunity through restoration, or partial restoration of the Earned Income Tax Credit to help make whole some of that tax increase,” said Jacobs.

Governor Rick Snyder and state lawmakers have scaled back the Earned Income Tax Credit in recent years. They say the same credit at the federal level does enough to help the state’s working poor.

Democrats in the state Legislature have introduced bills to at least partially restore the credit.

Gov. Snyder says the money from the tax windfall should go toward fixing roads.

When Governor Snyder and Michigan legislature cut part of the Earned Income Tax, they argued that it was just a move that piggy-backed on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. 

Michigan lawmakers cut the 20 percent rate of the federal credit to 6 percent of federal credit.

This meant that many poor, working-class families saw an increase in their taxes in addition to tax increases they felt from other legislative changes.

The state's advocates for the poor have called upon the legislature to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit to Michigan in order to ease the financial stress felt by poor families.

Michigan Radio's Lester Graham spoke with Gilda Jacobs, the President and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. 

Listen to the audio above to hear the story.

Storm dumps at least 6 inches on Michigan

A wet snow storm dropped at least 6 inches of snow on part of Michigan. As the Associated Press reports,

"The National Weather Service says as of Wednesday morning 6 inches fell in the Grand Haven and Muskegon areas, while 5 inches fell between Lansing and Jackson. Four to 5 inches fell in Grand Rapids. Four inches fell in some Detroit suburbs and Saginaw," the Associated Press reports.

Low income earners could see bigger tax refunds under bill

"Low-income Michiganders would see bigger state income tax refunds under a bill in the state Legislature. Governor Rick Snyder and lawmakers aggressively cut the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit in recent years. The legislation would raise the credit to 20 percent of what the federal government offers. Right now, it’s at six percent," Jake Neher reports.

Mike Duggan announces run for Detroit mayor

The former Detroit Medical Center executive and Wayne County prosecutor, Mike Duggan has officially announced that he will be running for Detroit mayor. According to the Associated Press, "[Duggan] says he'll use his managerial and government experience to help turn around Detroit's finances and improve poor public services."

A year ago, in their zeal to give businesses an enormous tax cut, the governor and the legislature considered virtually eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor. In the end, they didn’t quite kill it. Instead, they merely took most of it away.

When they did, there was hardly a whimper of protest from the Democrats. About the only group which seemed upset was the non-profit and non-partisan Michigan League for Human Services.