Michigan
The Detroit News: Prop 1 Would Cost Households Hundreds More in Taxes
April 13, 2015
The average tax hike for the middle fifth of Michigan households — those making $40,000 to $64,000 a year — would be $267, or $22 a month, according to an analysis by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for the Michigan League for Public Policy, an advocacy group in Lansing focused on poverty. […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Road funding ballot proposal: a win-win for everyone
March 10, 2015
According to a new report from the Michigan League for Public Policy, an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that even after the sales tax increase, the restoration of the state’s EITC to 20% of the federal EITC is enough to offset negative effects for low-income workers. On average, when taking […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: A Solution at Last to Michigan’s Crumbling Roads
March 3, 2015
Analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that the sales tax increase and the increase of the EITC will help low-income working people. After all of the changes in the package are accounted for, Michigan’s lowest earners (annual incomes under $20,000) will experience a net tax decrease. Read full report here. […]
Detroit Free Press: Time to Talk Tax Equality in Michigan
February 18, 2015
Michigan ranks 29th in personal tax equality and 48th in the percentage of tax revenue contributed by businesses, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the House Fiscal Agency. Why is it that an impoverished family living in Flint making $10,000 a year and a working-class family in Howell making $50,000 both […]
An updated version of this report has been published with data through July 1, 2017. Read the report in PDF form. Many states’ transportation budgets are in disarray, in part because they are trying to cover the rising cost of asphalt, machinery, and other construction materials with a gasoline tax rate that is rarely increased.1 […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Income Tax Cuts: Financially Irresponsible and No Economic Benefits
January 26, 2015
Proposals to roll back the personal income tax in Michigan will not create jobs or grow our economy and will disproportionately benefit the wealthiest taxpayers the most. It is also fiscally irresponsible to reduce taxes when the state is facing a budget shortfall due to lower than expected revenues. In fact, most of the benefits […]
ABC (Michigan Affiliate WZZM): Gas Tax 101
December 3, 2014
Carl Davis, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, D.C., said Michigan is one of only four states, with Indiana, Illinois and Hawaii, that fully apply their general sales tax to fuel sales. Of the 41.4 cents in state taxes Michigan motorists pay on a gallon of fuel, only […]
Michigan Chronicle: Will Lame Duck Session Fix Broken Roads?
December 3, 2014
“The state’s flat gas tax of 19 cents per gallon is at an all-time low, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The tax hasn’t been raised since 1997. Increasing the excise tax on gas and diesel fuel and placing it on the wholesale cost of fuel will generate […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Let’s Not Make it Harder for People to Get to Work!
November 25, 2014
Improving the state’s roads is critical to economic growth in Michigan. Not only do people depend on the roads and public transportation to get to work, but businesses—and potential businesses—rely on safe roads to transport goods. It is imperative, however, to ensure that people can still afford to get to work if taxes are increased. […]
Michigan Public Radio: On the Road to Another Tax Increase That Will Hit Low-Income Earners the Hardest
November 24, 2014
Why bring it up now? Because right now Michigan leaders are considering another tax increase that will have a disproportionate impact on the state’s working poor. Before we dive into that, here is some context to consider: According to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy, low-income earners in Michigan already face […]
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate was 14.5 percent, a slight drop from last years’ rate of 15 percent and the first decline since 2006.1 However, the poverty rate remains 2.0 […]
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
August 5, 2014 • By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2013. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family's income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
Michigan League for Public Policy: Road fix must protect low-income families
June 9, 2014
“It’s clear that Michigan must come up with a solution to repair its broken roads. A funding solution that requires a higher sales tax, however, will be especially difficult for lower-income working families who already pay a greater share of their income in state and local taxes. Read the Full Report
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America's infrastructure.
Detroit Free Press: Why Michiganders Pay Among the Highest Gas Tax to Drive on Crummy Roads
May 23, 2014
By Paul Egan, May 23, 2014 High fuel taxes and low spending on roads. It’s a nasty combination, but Michigan motorists can rightfully complain they pay some of the highest fuel taxes to drive on some of the lousiest roads. According to national data, Michigan has the sixth-highest state taxes on gasoline but one of […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on SB 402
May 12, 2014
The Michigan League for Public Policy opposes Senate Bill 402. Across‐the‐board cuts in the state’s personal income tax will not create jobs or grow the economy in Michigan. They could, however, affect long-term prosperity by locking in cuts in funding for public schools, colleges and universities, and local communities—the very services and public structures that […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Testimony to the House Tax Policy Committee on HB 5265-5267
May 12, 2014
The Michigan League for Public Policy opposes House Bills 5265, 5266, and 5267 because across-the-board cuts in the state’s personal income tax will not create jobs or grow Michigan’s economy. In fact, revenue reductions associated with income tax reductions could affect long-term prosperity by locking in cuts in funding for colleges and universities, local communities, […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Slicing Up the Income Tax Cut Proposal
May 12, 2014
Proposals to roll back the personal income tax in Michigan will not create jobs or grow our economy and will disproportionately benefit the wealthiest taxpayers the most. In fact, most of the benefits of a cut in the state’s personal income tax from 4.25% to 3.9% would flow to Michigan’s wealthiest taxpayers, according to an […]
The Transylvania Times: No True Tax Reform
April 16, 2014
(Original Post) Within the past few days, thousands of North Carolinians have been scurrying to complete and file their state and federal income tax returns. As always, there is a call for a simpler and more equitable tax code. As usual, very little is done to make taxes simpler or achieve a more equitable system. […]
Toledo Blade: Whose tax cut?
February 20, 2014
(Original Post) The latest scheme to cut state income tax rates would favor the rich, increase inequality, and harm basic services Gov. John Kasich and many members of the Republican-controlled General Assembly will campaign for re-election this year largely on their efforts to cut Ohio’s personal income tax yet again. Voters — at least middle-class […]
Cincinnati City Beat: Kasich’s Tax Proposal Favors Wealthy
February 18, 2014
(Original Post) February 14th, 2014 By German Lopez | News | Posted In: News, Economy, Governor Proposal would let poor buy a slice of pizza, while top 1 percent could buy a trip to Italy Gov. John Kasich’s income tax proposal would disproportionately favor Ohio’s wealthiest, an analysis from Policy Matters Ohio and the Institute […]
MLive.com: Immigration officials up pressure on undocumented workers in Michigan
February 18, 2014
(Original Post) By Gary Ridley | [email protected] on February 16, 2014 at 6:30 AM, updated February 16, 2014 at 6:35 AM FLINT, MI — Jose Guerra was 15 when he started working illegally in the United States. Guerra, now 25, said he, his parents, two brothers and sister left Mexico in 2003 to find work […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: Typical family pays less tax in Nebraska than in most similar states
January 24, 2014
Middle-income Nebraskans pay relatively low taxes compared to their counterparts in eight nearby states with similar economies and tax structures. A family earning the median family income in Nebraska ($63,442) would pay less in taxes than a similar family in all but two of these states – Colorado and Kansas. (Table 1) The other comparable […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: Tax Cuts Won’t Grow the Economy
January 15, 2014
Across-the-board income tax cuts will not boost Michigan’s economy but would contribute to rising income inequality, and further drain resources from public schools, community colleges, universities, health care and public safety—the very services that fuel economic growth. Despite claims that income tax cuts create economic growth, there is no evidence that they generate the […]
Michigan League for Public Policy: The Path to Prosperity: Ten Steps Michigan Must Take to Strengthen Its Economy
November 13, 2013
Over the last decade, Michigan policymakers have addressed the state’s economic and fiscal problems largely through a combination of budget cuts, tax shifts and reliance on one-time revenues–under the mistaken assumption that the state could cut its way to prosperity, and create jobs and economic growth through reduced business taxes. In fact, the path to […]
