LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Legislative Republicans are up in arms over a move by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Democrats to adopt their tax relief package.
The package does not include an automatic rollback of the state income tax rate that Republicans want.
The governor and her legislative lieutenants would not confirm that they were going to offer a new tax relief package that would stop a GOP proposal to slice the state income tax rate from 4.25% to 4.05%.
That looking and analyzing in the State Senate turned into a new package of tax cuts that indeed would stop the GOP income tax rollback.
State Senate Republican Aric Nesbitt was not too happy about that.
“When the governor told the press corps she was just analyzing the scheduled income tax cut, it turns out she was actually devising a shell game to swindle taxpayers out of this money,” said Nesbitt. “The state law says the money only should go to families for tax relief. It will now go to corporations instead.”
The governor’s package does include extending retirement income exemptions, a larger tax break for needy families earning under $57,000 a year and there is an $800 million fund to attract new businesses.
“I’m disappointed. Being able to provide tax relief to all inflationary-weary Michiganders families, it seems like something we could have worked on in a bipartisan fashion,” continued Nesbitt.
Before the new Democratic plan was approved, the governor outlined her objective.
“There are a lot of people in our state bearing the brunt of inflation. I’ve been trying to get relief into people’s pockets,” said Whitmer. “I know if we increase the family tax credit, [and] if we eliminate the repeal of the retirement tax, these are real, meaningful ways we can help people right now.”
Republicans complain the governor talked bi-partisanship last week in her State of the State but they gripe there was none on this new package that cleared the Senate.
