Michigan:
Fewer taxes for business, more taxes for us

Jun 18, 2007

Governor Granholm and Michigan’s top legislative leaders – both Democrats and Republicans – have agreed on a new so-called business tax plan. This new plan will reduce taxes for nearly three-quarters of all companies in the state who presently pay state taxes, particularly the biggest ones. These state leaders want everyone to think they have performed a miracle, because while most businesses will pay less taxes, the politicians claim that the total amount of business taxes collected will remain just about the same as today.

How will they do this? By doing two things: They propose to collect a little more money from out-of-state companies doing business in Michigan, and they propose to collect significantly more taxes from insurance companies. These insurance companies are expected to pass the increase on to everyone who buys insurance in any form – like health insurance, car insurance and house insurance that most working people have to buy.

In other words, this new so-called business tax is really a way to shift still more of the few taxes that corporations pay off the corporations and onto working people. It is simply business as usual for both the Democrats and Republicans – in Michigan and all over the country.