After years of political wrangling over the issue, business advocates hail the phase-out of Michigan’s tax on industrial machinery and business equipment as a welcome tonic for job growth. Public officials in places like River Rouge and Warren are not so sanguine. BILLIONS MORE LOST, BUT PROPERTY VALUE DROP SLOWING “This is not going to […]
personal property tax
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Give Snyder credit for trying to juggle tax changes
After years of thinking up new ways to attract business with special deals, Michigan appears intent on getting out of the big money incentive game by engineering a tax code in which there is little left to abate. Before it was repealed last year, lawmakers had created some 60 exemptions in a Michigan Business Tax […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Snyder tries again on cut for business equipment tax
In the final weeks of the legislative year, the Snyder administration is pressing ahead with a plan to cut a tax on business equipment by attempting to appease two groups: local governments that count on that money to pay for services, and business groups that claim the levy is a job killer. With a set […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Broad tax cuts won't propel Michigan to prosperity, says economist
George Erickcek, a senior regional economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, says Michigan might encourage more new investment by offering targeted tax credits on new manufacturing equipment rather than eliminating the personal property tax. Erickcek also says Michigan’s new 6 percent Corporate Income Tax might leave the state strapped for tax […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Michigan's libraries, learners will lose if tax funds aren't replaced
By Lance Werner/Kent District Library Libraries and other organizations such as schools, police, and fire departments that provide essential tax-supported services have been working with state lawmakers for nearly a year to brainstorm ways to replace the business equipment personal property tax (PPT), if it is eliminated. Replacement is critical because, without it, the services […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
The poison-pill politics of the personal property tax
Michigan residents trust local government far more than they do state government, according to the latest survey released Wednesday by Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. Nearly twice as many say they seldom or never trust state government than those who say they seldom or never trust local government. Municipal employees […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Snyder builds tax plan on complicated tax credit math
The Snyder administration’s plan to give tax relief to businesses by reducing the personal property tax rests … on the end of tax breaks for businesses. Yes, you read that correctly. Over the next several years, Michigan will stop sending hundreds of millions of dollars of business-tax credits out the door. The corresponding expected increase […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
In Ohio, tax repeal advocates tout anecdotes
While Michigan tinkers with its tax structure in an effort to improve its business climate, its neighbor to the south already is collecting accolades and attracting investments. Site Selection magazine, in its March issue, awarded Ohio its Governor’s Cup for attracting 498 major capital investment projects in 2011, the most among the 50 states. Michigan […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Calley: PPT plan puts Michigan ahead of Ohio
Lt. Governor Brian Calley testified last week on behalf of the Snyder administration’s proposal to phase-out the personal property tax (read business equipment tax) by 2022. The proposal is strongly backed by business groups and just as strongly opposed by groups representing local governments and schools, which fear the loss of almost half a billion […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Will personal property tax tug-of-war drag cities into the mud?
Legislation that would phase out Michigan’s personal property tax — essentially a business equipment levy — on industrial and commercial property is working its way through the Michigan Senate. The repeal is strongly backed by business groups such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and manufacturers. It is just as strongly opposed by alliances of […]