“[Republican] Gov. Rick Snyder proposed legislation Monday to offset what he said would amount to an unintended $1.5-billion annual tax increase for Michigan residents resulting from the recent federal tax reform package.”
That’s the lead sentence in an article in the Detroit Free Press from yesterday titled “Snyder proposes plan to offset federal tax reform for Michigan taxpayers“.
The article goes on to say that our Republican governor is trying his best to protect Michigan taxpayers from the tax increase being imposed on them by the #TrumpTaxScam that the president signed into law in December:
Snyder is proposing a restored $4,000 personal exemption for 2018 — increasing to $4,500 in 2021 — to offsetthe current $4,000 state exemption the administration believes will be lost as a result of the recent federal tax reform package signed into law by President Donald Trump.
The Free Press reported Jan. 2 that the recent federal tax reform was expected to result in an unexpected tax hike for Michigan residents of close to $1.5 billion. While significantly increasing the standard deduction, the package reduced federal tax exemptions to zero. Because federal exemptions are carried over to state tax return forms, legislation is needed to clarify Michigan’s Income Tax Act so that exemptions at the state level can continue, Snyder said.
A $1.5 BILLION tax increase for Michigan taxpayers.
That’s a stark admission from our Republican governor that his Party’s president along with the members of the House and Senate from his Party have raised the taxes of Michiganders, despite all of their rhetoric to the contrary. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan was quoted as saying, “A lot of people think it’s going to raise their taxes. So the proof is in the pudding, and I think the results will speak for themselves.” Well, we’ve tasted the pudding already and the results have spoken. Now even Republicans are forced to admit that what Trump erroneously describes as “the largest tax cut in history” (it’s not) isn’t a “tax cut” at all, not for many Americans.
Let’s all remember this and do whatever we can to make sure Republicans are shown the door in November of 2018.
P.S. It appears that Gov. Snyder is using this situation as a way to boost the political profile of his Lt. Gov., Brian Calley, who is running to replace him in 2018:
Snyder said he and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley worked with the state Department of Treasury over the holidays season to analyze the effects of the federal tax reform and come up with a state fix.
“We are putting Michigan families first by working to enact a simple and fair solution to fix the unintended consequences of the federal tax plan,” Snyder said in a news release.
Calley’s opponent, Bill “Shady” Schuette, wants to use the opportunity for his own political gain, too, of course. He’s recommending lowering the state income tax and blowing a nearly $1 billion hole in our state budget:
Attorney General Bill Schuette, who, like Calley, is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, issued a campaign news release saying Michigan should “seize the opportunity” and reduce the state personal income-tax rate from 4.25% to 3.9%. […]
Reducing the rate to 3.9% would amount to about a $900-million tax cut, but the benefits of it would be felt more by higher-income earners, Treasurer Nick Khouri said Monday.
