LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Mark Huizenga on Tuesday secured meaningful relief for every Michigan taxpayer after protecting an upcoming automatic state income tax rollback.
“At a time when families are being crushed by inflation and rising costs, I worked to find a solution to this problem and deliver lower income taxes for West Michigan families — allowing them to soon be able to keep more of their hard-earned money,” said Huizenga, R-Walker. “This tax cut will provide real relief to hard-working families.
“I have supported — and continue to support — removing taxes on retirement income and expanding the number of families that qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, but House Bill 4001, as enacted, would have meant higher taxes in the long run — so I could not support it.
“Lowering the personal income tax rate is the first step as part of a commonsense plan to provide West Michigan families with real relief from inflation. I remain ready to work with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to solve problems facing our working- and middle-class families by enacting bipartisan legislation to provide them with immediate relief.”
Under a 2015 law, if revenues in Michigan’s general fund increase past a certain point, an automatic and permanent reduction to the state income tax rate is triggered. The House and Senate fiscal agencies estimate that Michigan was $700 million over the trigger’s threshold in fiscal year 2022, which would reduce the income tax rate from 4.25% to 4.05%.
If enacted by April 18, HB 4001 would have stopped that cut by retroactively moving $800 million from the general fund to a new fund to provide one-time $180 rebates in 2023.
The bill also increases the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 6% to 30% of the federal EITC and phase-in over four years an exemption on certain retirement income from the state income tax, such as public retirement or pension benefits.
To see a video of comments from Sen. Huizenga about why he opposed HB 4001, visit https://youtu.be/QVVSKOoc7h4.
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