Bridge Michigan: Michigan GOP tax cut plan helps wealthy at expense of equity
media mentionFollowing is an excerpt from an opEd co-authored by ITEP policy analyst Neva Butkus in Bridge Michigan:
At the beginning of 2022, the national Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) forecasted the “tax cut fever” that has been sweeping through state legislatures across the nation — including here in Michigan, with the Legislature’s passage last week of a major, permanent and unsustainable cut to the personal income tax.
As ITEP noted, most state budgets are flush with cash due to billions in federal aid and a rebounding economy, positioning state policymakers to make transformative investments in programs, such as healthcare, education and infrastructure that will help communities rebound from the ongoing pandemic. Unfortunately, most state legislatures are instead opting for premature, myopic tax cuts that will inevitably widen racial inequities and erode public services that are still reeling from cuts due to the Great Recession. Read more