The Michigan House narrowly adopted a comprehensive piece of legislation that would lower taxes for some seniors and low-income employees and establish a long-term financing source for the state’s economic incentives on Thursday, February 9, The Detroit News reported.
The package, which passed 56-53, may include $180 rebate checks for tax filers if it is passed immediately by the Senate, which minority Republicans called off just after the House vote while Democrats were in a caucus meeting. The rebate checks would stop the state’s 4.25% personal income tax from being automatically reduced in the near future, according to the article.
Additionally, the plan would redirect up to $500 million in corporate income taxes each year to the state’s fund for business attraction, which would then provide corporations with cash rewards for investing and adding new jobs in Michigan.
After two days of unsuccessful attempts by Democrats to pass the bill with their 56-54 majority, the House finally voted on it. In the midst of yells from members barred from discussing the issue on the floor, the vote on Thursday ended with one Democratic member opposing the measure and one Republican supporting it.
As lawmakers attempted to pass legislation providing for tax relief on Thursday, Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, in the middle, listens to a group of his colleagues.
The only Republican to vote in favor of the bill was Rep. Mike Mueller, R-Linden, who then quickly exited the chamber.
State Representative Dylan Wegela, a Democrat from Garden City, was the only Democrat to vote against the tax relief legislation, noting a $500 million allocation of tax money each year to provide firms taxpayer subsidies for making investments and generating employment in the state. It was described by Wegela as a “corporate handout.”
Regardless of the controversy and delay that surrounded its passage, House Speaker Joe Tate, a Democrat from Detroit, praised the bill’s crossing “the finish line” in his chamber.
“I think at the end of the day, Michigan residents want to see results and that’s what we just delivered today,” he said in the article.
The bill, which narrowly passed in the House, would provide each taxpayer a check for $180 and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit from 6% to 30%. It would also remove taxes on public and private pensions. Married couples who jointly file their taxes would receive a total of $180, or $90 for each spouse. For police and firefighters, the pension tax repeal would take effect right away; however, for other retirees, it would be phased in over the course of four years.
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