LANSING – It looks like a $180 check will soon be on its way to Michigan taxpayers.
One check per filing means if you file jointly with a spouse, it’s a single check for you to share. That check is the real sticking point in the battle between Democrats and Republicans over House Bill 4001 in Lansing.
That bill has many facets:
- Eliminating the three-tier retirement tax system.
- Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit.
- Putting $800 million into SOAR, which gives incentives to businesses.
Democrats want that one-time check. The GOP wants to roll back the state income tax from 4.25% to 4.05%.
It got heated in the Michigan House Thursday (Feb. 9) afternoon when the Democratic leadership pushed a vote on the bill without allowing Republican members to speak.
That bill was then headed to the Senate for a vote, but the GOP, which had control of the gavel while Democrats were off the floor, pulled a procedural fast one. They adjourned the chamber so no vote could be taken.
“Republicans literally stole the gavel and ran home, ran away from the opportunity to vote for this kind of relief for Michigan families that is procedural, it is petty,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist.
What’s one man’s petty is another’s righteous indignation.
“The disrespect that was shown to House Republicans this afternoon by locking them in and denying the opportunity to debate such a consequential vote was an insult to this institution. It is my hope that we can come back, hit the reset button, and legislate through a more transparent process,” Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt said.
Read: Michigan House to vote Thursday on Gov. Whitmer’s plan for $180 inflation relief checks
