For Immediate Release
February 15, 2017
Contact:
Alex Rossman
arossman@mlpp.org
517-487-5436
Groups warn against tax cut’s $680M budget hole in FY 2018, damage to economy, schools and local communities
LANSING—The Michigan League for Public Policy issued the following statement today in opposition to House Bill 4001 that will eliminate the state income tax. The statement can be attributed to Gilda Z. Jacobs, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy, who also testified against this bill in this morning’s House Tax Policy Committee.
“Lawmakers who are pushing this proposal are ignoring the real-time failures happening in other states that have cut their state income tax, and they are ignoring the will of the people. Polling data shows widespread opposition across party lines and in every corner of the state. There’s only one group of people who will significantly benefit from cutting the state income tax, and it’s the state’s wealthiest individuals. The people of Michigan who are working hard but still struggling will suffer from the continued degradation of state services, our infrastructure and our quality of life.
“You only have to look at the lineup of opposition to this bill to see the broad array of people who will be harmed by cutting the state income tax—including the very working people this is said to help. This proposal will not create jobs or stimulate our economy. Instead, it will create a $680 million budget hole in the first year, and cost the state up to $9 billion or even more when the income tax is fully eliminated. Michigan has already endured years of cuts to services people rely on every day and has seen the consequences in public crises in Flint and other communities. Cutting the income tax will exacerbate these problems and leave our state unable to invest in our schools, colleges and universities, air and water, communities, bridges and roads, healthcare and public safety—the things that actually fuel economic growth.”
The League has been a leading voice in speaking out against the real impact of this tax cut, and will continue to stand up for the people of Michigan and the value of government services. See the links below for additional information.
- Testimony on HB 4001 to House Tax Policy Committee by League CEO Gilda Z. Jacobs
- Polling that shows widespread opposition to cutting the income tax
- OpEd by the League on the fallout in Kansas after they cut their income tax
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The Michigan League for Public Policy, www.mlpp.org, is a nonprofit policy institute focused on economic opportunity for all. It is the only state-level organization that addresses poverty in a comprehensive way.
[…] bill, called House Bill 4001, were the Michigan Municipal League, the education community and the Michigan League for Public Policy. All these groups urged the committee to consider the budget consequences of such a reduction. And […]
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