By Craig Thiel/Anderson Economic Group (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) A long-term funding fix to Michigan’s deteriorating road and bridge infrastructure system can’t seem to catch a break. For much of the last decade, Michigan’s anemic economic performance made the prospect of raising the necessary revenues to fund road and bridge investment a “non-starter” […]
Anderson Economic Group
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: University research alliance boosts economy, jobs in Michigan
By Jeff Mason/University Research Corridor As Michigan’s economy continues its resurgence, the three major state universities that make up Michigan’s University Research Corridor are doing their part to educate and develop the workers who can give businesses a clear advantage in today’s competitive global economy. The URC – consisting of Michigan State University, the University of […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Bad roads throw up barriers to farmers, auto firms, tourists
Better than most, Cass County resident Cliff Poehlman understands how bad roads raise the cost of doing business. Poehlman farms about 2,000 acres of corn, wheat and alfalfa in southwestern Michigan. He is also a 22-year veteran of the Cass County Road Commission. In recent years, Poehlman said, the commission has been forced to issue […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Guest column: Snyder charts right course on roads
By James A. Jacob/Ajax Paving Cars swerving to miss potholes, bumper-to-bumper congestion, concrete falling from dangerous bridges and a lack of enhanced safety features such as broad shoulders along roadways create hazards for Michigan drivers. Michigan roads are notoriously known as some of the worst in the nation. A recent trucker survey ranked Michigan second-worst […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
'Shadow Tax Cut' deepens local budget crises
A $900 million cut in property tax revenues since 2007, the “Shadow Tax Cut,” has devastated the budgets of local governments that heavily rely on these taxes to provide police and fire protection — and a host of other services. They’ve laid off hundreds of firefighters, police officers and other employees; cut pay and benefits; […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
$1.6 billion shaved off Michigan property tax bills
Thousands of Michigan home and business owners have been the recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax cuts in recent years — a savings that few seem to recognize. Property owners in the state as a whole have seen property taxes fall nearly $900 million between 2007 and 2010. Adjusted for inflation, […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Despite $300 million reduction, businesses seek relief
Michigan businesses, which have already won a $1.6 billion business tax cut, are pushing hard to repeal the state’s personal property tax on machinery, computers and other equipment. But they don’t talk much about, or even recognize, the $324 million tax cut they’ve received since 2007, the result of falling property values and lower tax […]
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