Americans are fleeing high-tax blue states like California, Michigan, and New York, putting aside their liberal distaste of red state America to flee to low tax states like Texas and Florida, neither of which even have an income tax.
So, it might seem natural for the governments of those states to lower the tax rates and make them attractive once again to businesses and job creators.
While true for all three, that’s doubly true for Michigan, which has neither the beautiful weather of California nor reputation as a center of business held by New York. It’s cold and in the Midwest; while surely beautiful and wonderful in its own right, it hardly has the natural beauty and temperate weather that make California’s massive taxes tolerable to those that live there.
Recognizing that fact and wanting to retain citizens rather than shed taxpayers fleeing their frozen hell for a sunny Florida beach or warm Texas ranch, both states with no income tax, the GOP-controlled Michigan Senate passed $2.5 billion worth of tax cuts, hoping to stop the bleed of taxpayers to more livable and lower tax red states.
Describing the tax cut plan, a plan reached after much haggling and negotiation, the Detroit Free Press reports:
House and Senate Republicans both proposed their own income tax cut plans, arriving at a compromise earlier this week. The deal included rolling the income tax back from 4.25% to 3.9%, increasing the amount of all retirement income that’s tax free to $40,000 for individuals and $80,000 for couples, cutting the eligibility age for this break from 67 to 62 and creating a new $500 tax credit for each child or qualified dependent in a house.
Unfortunately for Michigan, its pantsuit-clad tyrant, Governor Whitmer, didn’t see that logic. So, she’s expected to veto the bill and slap Michigan’s struggling taxpayers in the face.
Writing about her expected veto in a letter, Whitmer bizarrely described the tax cuts as “irresponsible,” saying:
“In its current form, this bill is fiscally irresponsible, unsustainable, and could increase costs for Michigan families at a time when they can least afford it.
It would mean drastically reducing resources to invest in important priorities like increased access to behavioral health, retaining police and firefighters, veterans, dams, removing lead service lines, and so much more.”
The thing is, that’s not true; Michigan currently has a massive government surplus, so no programs would need to be cut. As Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said:
“A sure sign someone has been in government too long is if they’re trying to convince you the bureaucracy cannot afford a $2.5 billion tax cut when it has an $8 billion surplus.”
Michigan’s government has enough money and its taxpayers need a break; the Senate bill would have accomplished that, at least partially. Whitmer, in her hardheaded resistance to tax cuts, is keeping taxes high for no good reason, obviously just wanting more money to spend on her unnecessary pet projects.
Describing that inclination, Shirkey added that “If she does veto this bill, the governor will be making it clear that she thinks she knows how to spend Michigander’s money better than they do.”
Such is the hubris of government, particularly liberal government.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Parler and Gettr.
This story syndicated with permission from Will, Author at Trending Politics