Tagged: taxes

Today some people in the Cities of Granville and Walker will begin collecting signatures to get their cities out of the partnership that runs the bus system in metro Grand Rapids. It’s called The Rapid.

The Kent County Taxpayers Alliance says it's not against bus transportation in general, but feels the system is wasting tax dollars. The grassroots organization with volunteer staff tries to keeps tabs on taxpayer dollars in local government.

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow will introduce a bill next week to prevent companies from getting tax write-offs for moving overseas.

Currently businesses can write off moving expenses on their taxes if they’re moving within or out of the country.  But no such break exists for businesses moving into the U.S.

“That makes absolutely no sense,” Stabenow said at a press conference Monday at Grand Valley State University.

Every week, Rick Pluta, Lansing Bureau Chief for the Michigan Public Radio Network, and I take a look at state politics.This week: it's all about the politics of taxes. It was Tax Day this week and that brought out plenty of politicians ready to talk about taxes... but, they weren't the usual suspects.

Dems: It's About Taxes

"We had Democrats coming out and talking about taxes which is kind of an inversion of the way that the political world usually works. On Tax Day, you usually get Republicans coming out talking about how taxes are too high... But [this week] you saw Lansing Democrats coming out and reminding people that 2012 was when seniors who have pension income were taxed on that income for the first time and that the dozen or so tax breaks that people used to be able to apply to their state income taxes are no longer," Pluta explains.

GOP: It's About the Economy

Republicans, instead, focused on an economic message with Governor Snyder tweeting about the state's declining unemployment rate. "The Republican message, right now, is framed a lot more around the economy, not taxes... They're really not even trying to get in front of the tax message. What they're trying to get in front of is the message that 'whatever it is that we're doing, it's working.'"

All Politics is Local... Really?

It's important to note that it's not just state Democrats beating the tax drum. "In this age where most elections are really nationalized, especially in presidential election years, what Democrats are saying and doing in Lansing fits in pretty snuggly alongside what we're hearing from Democrats in Washington  and what President Obama is saying about Republicans, and tax policy, and who should be paying more in taxes," Pluta explains. So, although former U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill made the "all politics is local" line famous, it certainly doesn't hurt state Democrats to be in step with their party's national talking-points.

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This week certainly had it's share of political news: Governor Snyder made a surprise trip to Afghanistan, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed the autism mandate into law and three (out of nine) members were appointed to Detroit's Financial Advisory Board. Pluta and I take a look at these stories and more in an extended edition of It's Just Politics. You can hear the show below:

The first hearing will be held tomorrow on a Republican plan to phase out taxes on most industrial equipment in Michigan.

Local governments collect about $400 million in revenue a year from the industrial property tax.

Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley helped design the plan to get rid of the tax over the next several years. He says Michigan is unique in how it taxes industrial property -- and he says it’s driving investments to other states and countries.

“So at the end of the day, it’s about jobs and removing the penalty for investing in Michigan,” Calley said.

But local leaders say the way the phase-out is drafted now, it would force disinvestment in schools, and city services. That’s because it does not replace all the revenue lost to local governments.

Some state lawmakers like Senate Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer agree.

“At best, they only intend to replace 81 percent of the dollars,”Whitmer said. “So does that mean that they are going to cut our fire services 19 percent? They’re also going to cut our police service 19 percent? They’re going to cut our schools an additional 19 percent? How is that made up?”

The communities that would be most affected are industrial cities with the most factories. That includes Michigan's third-largest city, Warren.

Warren mayor Jim Fouts says the city stands to lose $12 million a year in revenue if the tax is repealed.

“It would be absolute disaster," said Fouts, who said he'd be forced to cut public safety and other vital services. 

"It’s a good example of short-term thinking without looking at the long-term consequences, which are draconian consequences.”

Fouts says Lansing has recently shifted more costs and mandates to local governments, while also cutting off their sources of revenue. He sent a letter expressing his concerns to Governor Snyder.

Former Michigan Governor John Engler says politicians in Washington need to make important decisions now, despite the general election coming in November.

Engler is now President of Business Roundtable, a national association of CEOs.

He says politicians have a lot of tough decisions to make to keep the U.S. competitive globally. That includes decisions on energy and education; but most importantly, he says, decisions about the tax code and the federal deficit. Engler says those decisions need to made as quickly as possible.