The News-Herald: Senate Democrats blame GOP for increases in state income taxes
media mentionPublished: Wednesday, April 03, 2013
“Governor Snyder and the Republican-led legislature have given away more than $1.8 billion in tax breaks for big businesses at the expense of hardworking individuals, which is a burden that is simply too much for most families to bear,” he said. “I’ve spoken with countless families around the state and right here in Metro Detroit impacted by these unprecedented tax increases, and the reaction is always the same – utter disbelief and disappointment.”
The biggest complaint from all of the senators was that changes in the law have affected lower income families at a higher rate than more wealthy families. Families that fall into the top one percent of income have only seen their taxes go up about $7, while those in the bottom 20 percent have seen an average increase of about $100 according to statistics provided by the Michigan League for Public Policy.
“Tax credits that families have come to depend on were slashed left and right by Republican lawmakers in Lansing,” said Smith. “The reduction of the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit alone will force an estimated 9,000 children in our state back into poverty.”
According to The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 51 percent of all Michigan taxpayers will pay more in individual income taxes under Governor Snyder’s tax policies than they have in years past. This increased burden on individuals was enacted in order to offset a $1.8 billion business tax cut. Taxes on businesses have fallen 83 percent in the past two years according to the league.
“The Republicans are putting their big fat boot to the backs of senior citizens and middle class families,” said Young. “This is nothing more than corporate welfare. The citizens get slayed and the CEOs get paid. It’s despicable and deplorable. This must end now.”
As a result of the tax increases, a single parent with two children and $22,000 in annual income who would have qualified for a $444 refund in 2011 will now receive only $80, according to a release from Hopgood’s office. A married couple with two kids making $100,000 in income will now pay $459 more than they did in tax year 2011. A retired couple born after 1952 with $53,000 in total income would have previously received a $1,200 Homestead Property Tax credit on their Michigan income taxes. This year, they will receive nothing, raising their state income taxes from $1,930 to $3,130. An average retired autoworker born after 1952 with an annual pension of $32,000 will have to pay $1,400 a year in new, unanticipated taxes under the Pension Tax.
“As a retiree living on a fixed income, I was depending on a tax refund to help make ends meet,” said retired worker and Allen Park resident, Dennis Marcos. “Upon filing my taxes in February, I was absolutely devastated,”
“When Snyder gave big businesses huge tax handouts, I knew that everyday citizens would pay the price. I am outraged by the unfair burden that Snyder has placed on people like myself, who planned so carefully for their futures and are now stuck footing the bill.”