DETROIT – In her State of the State address Wednesday (Jan. 26) night, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out her priorities, including targeted tax cuts.
On Thursday (Jan. 27), she hit the road to try to sell it. Whitmer made multiple stops around Michigan, including one in Detroit.
The state is sitting on its most enormous surplus ever, and there’s a desire to make voters happy this election year. And as always in Lansing, the devil is in the details. There doesn’t seem to be a dispute about tax relief. It’s a matter of precisely the kind we will get.
“Right now, we have got an opportunity to make the tax code fairer for the people of Michigan,” Whitmer said.
The question is, how do you get there? During Whitmer’s State of the State address, she called for an end to the pension tax that was agreed to in 2011 to help balance out a corporate tax cut.
Whitmer also wants the earned income tax credit increased for low-income families.
“It is our seniors and working families that need the relief the most,” Whitmer said. “It is the most equitable way to ensure we’re putting money in people’s pockets that will end up in our economy that will boost and support and strengthen our economy for everyone’s benefit.”
Those are the targeted tax cuts, and State Senate Finance Committee Chair Jim Runestad said Whitmer shouldn’t be picking and choosing who gets relief.
“What we really need for seniors is an across-the-board tax cut,” Runestad said.
He points to rising inflation, too many open jobs, and Michiganders opting to move out of the state as signs tax relief shouldn’t just go to pensioners when some retirees use 401ks and will pay more tax, and seniors who need to work will get taxed even higher.
“(Whitmer) wants a tax cut for pensioners that would be different from a tax cut for those that receive a dividend or 401k or an IRA which would be different from a senior who doesn’t have any of those but had to go back to work,” Runestad said.
