Has Michigan got a deal for you
Click on any of the categories below to see how many tax breaks are out there, and how much they cost the state treasury. The numbers were taken from the state’s executive budget for 2013 and 2014.
Miscellaneous tax breaks
| Type of tax | Category | 2014 tax break value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property and Other Local Tax Expenditures | Tax Increment Financing | $280,000,000 | Allows municipalities to create tax increment finance plans under the Downtown Development Authority Act, P.A. 197 of 1975; the Tax Increment Finance Authority Act, P.A. 450 of 1980; the Local Development Finance Authority Act, P.A. 281 of 1986; and the Brownfield Redevelopment Act, P.A. 381 of 1996. Each authority may capture millage from the general property tax and industrial and commercial facilities taxes. The captured revenue, which would normally accrue to the city, county, and school district, is diverted to finance commercial and industrial costs. Estimates of the cost of tax increment financing assume that local units would have invested in projects without assistance from tax increment finance plans. To the extent these investments would not have occurred without funding through the tax increment finance plan, the tax expenditure estimates are overstated. |
| Sales and Use Tax Expenditures | Government or Red Cross | $211,930,000 | Exempts sales to the United States or agencies or instrumentalities wholly owned by the U.S.; the American Red Cross; and the State of Michigan, its departments, institutions, and political subdivisions. |
| Sales and Use Tax Expenditures | Sale of Water | $60,800,000 | Exempts the sale of water through water mains or delivered in bulk tanks in quantities over 500 gallons. |
| Michigan Business Tax Certificated Credits | Brownfield Redevelopment Credit | $40,000,000 | Provides credit for a portion of the cost for investments made for the demolition, construction, restoration, alteration, renovation, or improvement of buildings located in Brownfield development zones. |
| Sales and Use Tax Expenditures | Vehicles and Aircraft Transfers | $37,650,000 | Exempts certain isolated transfers of vehicles, aircraft, snowmobiles, or watercraft |
| Michigan Business Tax Certificated Credits | MEGA Polycrystaline Silicon Manufacturing | $26,000,000 | Provides for a single twelve-year MEGA credit for the manufacture of polycrystalline silicon to be used for solar cells and semiconductor microchips beginning with a tax year that begins after December 31, 2011. The credit’s MEGA agreement must have been entered into by December 31, 2008. |
| Michigan Business Tax Certificated Credits | MEGA Photovoltaic Technology Credit | $21,000,000 | Provides for MEGA credits for the construction and operation of a new facility in Michigan for the development and manufacturing of photovoltaic energy, photovoltaic systems, or other photovoltaic technology. The total amount of credits under this provision, for all years, may not exceed $75,000,000. |
| Property and Other Local Tax Expenditures | Next Energy Exemption | $3,600,000 | Provides an exemption for alternative energy personal property certified by the Michigan Next Energy Authority from personal property taxes. The exemption is intended to help promote the research, development, and manufacturing of alternative energy technologies in Michigan. |
| Aviation Gasoline and Marine Fuel | Marine Vessel Exemption | $740,000 | Exempts watercraft used: by federal, state, or local governments; for commercial fishing; by the Sea Scouts; in interstate or foreign commerce; by a railroad company; and in connection with an activity providing a person’s chief means of livelihood from the tax on marine fuels. |
| Aviation Gasoline and Marine Fuel | Federally Owned Aircraft | $315,000 | Exempts the federal government from the aviation gasoline tax for fuel used in federally-owned aircraft. |
| Property and Other Local Tax Expenditures | Energy Conservation Devices | $90,000 | Exempts energy conservation devices from property tax. This exemption must be approved and certified by the State Tax Commission. |
| Watercraft Registration Fee | Publicly Owned Vehicle | $14,000 | Levies a special fee of $1.50 for publicly-owned vessels if the vessels are not used for recreational, commercial, or rental purposes. |
| Property and Other Local Tax Expenditures | Fairground Property | Exempts property owned by an agricultural society and used primarily for fair purposes. | |
| State Income Tax | Holocaust Survivor Subtraction | Public Act 181 of 1999 allows Holocaust survivors to subtract any income received as a result of a settlement of claims against any entity or individual for any recovered asset pursuant to the German act regulating unresolved property claims. |
In some cases, the state does not estimate the value of a tax break, leaving the tax break value empty in its tables.
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