Michigan House approves Republicans' tax cut, pulling votes from seven Democrats
Members of the Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a 0.2% reduction to the state income tax rate, as Republicans continue to blame Democrats for increased rates in 2024.
In 2023, Michigan Treasurer Rachel Eubanks announced the state's income tax rate would fall from 4.25% to 4.05% due to a 2015 law signed by GOP former Gov. Rick Snyder which reduces the income tax rate when revenues outpace inflation, though Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel determined the reduction would only apply for the 2023 tax year, drawing the ire of Republicans.
While the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected arguments from Republicans and the free-market Mackinac Center for Public Policy that the cut should have been permanent, Snyder told the Advance in October that was the policy's original intent.
'They said it wasn't permanent, and believe me, it was intended to be permanent. I was there. I did the spreadsheet that made the calculation to do it,' Snyder said.
The House voted 65-43 to reduce the income tax rate, with full support from House Republicans. The bill also received support from seven Democrats; Reps. Kelly Breen (D-Novi), John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming), Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), Denise Mentzer (D-Mt. Clemens), Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Twp.), Angela Witwer (D-Delta Twp.) and Mai Xiong (D-Warren).
State Rep. Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson) who sponsored the bill said it would allow Michiganders to hold onto more than $700 million in income each year.
'Families across Michigan are struggling to afford basic necessities — groceries, gas, housing, and child care costs are stretching budgets thinner than ever,' Schmaltz said in a statement. 'People need relief, and they need it now. With the state collecting more than enough tax revenue, it's time to give money back to the hardworking families who earned it.'
However some Democrats argued the cut would have a minimal effect on the Michiganders who need it the most
'This bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing, the wolf being the wealthy receiving yet another tax cut,' said. Rep. Morgan Foreman (D-Pittsfield Twp.)
'Almost 64% of the tax cuts for this legislation would go to the wealthiest 20%. This bill does not provide breathing room for hard working Michiganders.…The average amount back for those who make less than $27,000 per year would be an average of $11. $11 can't even buy baby formula. It doesn't make a dent when it comes to the rising prices and helping people make ends meet,' Foreman said.
Schmaltz's House Bill 4170 faces an uncertain future as it heads to the Democratic-led Senate for further consideration.
'Our caucus is focused on lowering costs and supporting Michigan's middle class families — I'm not sure this is the strongest way to do that,' Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) told the Advance on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Builds $274 Million War Chest Ahead of Midterms
(Bloomberg) -- Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Yass along with crypto industry donors helped President Donald Trump raise $236 million for his political operation in the first six months of 2025 — an unprecedented sum for a second-term president. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance The latest filings to the Federal Election Commission show that the fundraising haul, which includes donations to three leadership political action committees, joint fundraising committees and an allied super PAC, leaves Trump with $274 million cash on hand. It's a massive war chest he can deploy on behalf of Republican House and Senate candidates in the midterm elections, when the incumbent president's party generally loses seats, and it highlights the continued grip Trump retains on the GOP. Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., provided the biggest draw for campaign cash, taking in $177 million. The president has held four $1 million-per-plate dinners for MAGA Inc. donors as well as a $1.5 million-per-plate event for entrepreneurs and investors in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, two emerging technologies that have been a focus for his administration. While the FEC disclosures don't indicate whether a donor attended an event or simply wrote a check, they do reveal support from executives in tech, finance and energy for Trump. Yass, the co-founder of trading firm Susquehanna International Group and a major shareholder in TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd, gave $16 million. Pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren and his company, Energy Transfer LP combined to give $25 million. Crypto industry donors poured money in as well. Foris DAX Inc., parent of exchange gave $10 million, while Inc. gave $5 million. Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each gave $3 million, while billionaire twins Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss combined to give just over $2 million. MAGA Inc. got a $5 million donation from Musk, a close Trump ally who fell out with the president after leaving his role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency in late May. Musk has criticized Trump and Republicans over their signature tax and spending bill. Musk's donation hit on June 27, the same day he gave $5 million checks to two super PACs that back Republican candidates in the House and Senate. Musk in July vowed to create a third party. Earlier: Musk Gave His Super PAC $45.3 Million in First Half of 2025 While the money doesn't guarantee that Republicans will hold onto their narrow margins in the House and Senate, it gives them a major financial advantage over Democrats, who don't have a single leader to rally around or to spearhead fundrasing. The Democratic National Committee has raised $69 million, while Future Forward, the party's main super PAC, recevied donations of about $1 million. Big-Dollar Donors While big donors continued to power Trump's fundraising — about 70% of his haul came from contributors who gave $1 million or more — his small-dollar donor support, the backbone of his political operation, slowed. He raised $22 million from contributors donating less than $200, with most of that raised by Trump National JFC, which splits donations between the Never Surrender PAC, formerly his presidential campaign committee, and the Republican National Committee. Never Surrender and his other leadership PACs — Save America, which he's used to pay legal bills, and Make America Great Again PAC — ended June with $41 million cash on hand. The three committees combined to spend $26.5 million, with $6 million of that amount going to legal fees. Trump is still trying to overturn his 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. He's also fighting a judgment of civil fraud and a fine that now tops $500 million from a suit over his real estate valuations, as well as an $83.3 million award to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation. (Removes characterization of unpublished DNC report on 2024 election in ninth paragraph.) How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Los Angeles Times
23 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘They roll right over': Many Democratic voters call their party weak and ineffective, poll finds
WASHINGTON — Many Democrats see their political party as 'weak' or 'ineffective,' while Republicans are more complimentary of their party, although a small but significant share describe the GOP as 'greedy' or say it is generally 'bad,' according to a new poll. The poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in July reveals warning signs for both major U.S. parties as the political focus shifts to elections in New Jersey and Virginia this fall and the midterm contests next year. Respondents were asked to share the first word or phrase that came to mind when they thought of the Republican and Democratic parties. Answers were then sorted into broad categories, including negative and positive attributes. Overall, U.S. adults held a dim view of both parties, with about 4 in 10 using negative attributes, including words such as 'dishonest' or 'stupid.' But nearly nine months after Republican Donald Trump won a second presidential term, Democrats appear to be harboring more resentment about the state of their party than do Republicans. Democrats were likelier to describe their own party negatively than Republicans. Republicans were about twice as likely to describe their own party positively. 'They're spineless,' Cathia Krehbiel, a 48-year-old Democrat from Indianola, Iowa, said of her party. She believes the party's response to the Trump administration has been 'scattershot.' 'I just feel like there's so much recently that's just going abhorrently wrong,' Krehbiel said. 'And they speak up a little bit and they roll right over.' Overall, roughly one-third of Democrats described their party negatively in the open-ended question. About 15% described the Democratic Party using such words as 'weak' or 'apathetic,' while an additional 10% believe it is broadly 'ineffective' or 'disorganized.' Only about 2 in 10 Democrats described their party positively, with roughly 1 in 10 saying it is 'empathetic' or 'inclusive.' An additional 1 in 10 used more general positive descriptors. It is unclear what effect the Democrats' unease may have on upcoming elections or the political debate in Washington, but no political organization wants to be plagued by internal divisions. Still, the Democrats' frustration appears to reflect their concern that party leaders are not doing enough to stop Trump's GOP, which controls Washington. There is little sign that such voters would abandon their party in favor of Trump's allies in upcoming elections, and the vast majority of Democrats described the GOP negatively. But disaffected Democrats might decide not to vote at all. That could undermine their party's push to reclaim at least one chamber of Congress in 2026. Jim Williams, a 78-year-old retiree from Harper Woods, Mich., is a self-described political independent who said he typically supports Democrats, but he is 'disappointed' with the party and its murky message. He views the Republican Party as much worse, saying it 'has lost it' under Trump's leadership. 'All he does is bully and call names. They've got no morals, no ethics. And the more they back him, the less I like them,' he said of Trump. Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to describe their party positively, with many also using straightforward ideological descriptors like 'conservative.' About 4 in 10 Republicans used positive attributes to characterize the GOP, making general mentions of words such as 'patriotic' or 'hardworking,' or offering associations with the word 'freedom.' Samuel Washington, 65, of Chicago, said he typically votes Republican. He praised Trump's leadership, even while acknowledging that the president's policies on trade and spending might be creating short-term economic hardship. 'There's a lot of pain, but the pain is the result of 12 years of misuse and misguided leadership from the Democratic Party,' he said. 'I'm feeling really good about Republicans and the direction that they're going.' But views were not uniformly good. About 2 in 10 Republicans said something negative about the party, including phrases such as 'greedy,' 'for the rich' or 'corrupt.' Republican Dick Grayson, an 83-year-old veteran from Trade, Tenn., said he is 'disappointed' by his party's fealty to Trump. Among other things, he pointed to the price tag of Trump's tax-and-spend package, which will add nearly $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 'I've always been a Republican, but I'm disillusioned about both parties,' Grayson said. Among all Americans, the poll finds that the Republican Party is viewed slightly more negatively than the Democratic Party. The different is not large: 43% used negative words to describe the Republicans, compared with 39% for the Democrats. Much of the negativity is driven by the opposing party — and nonaligned voters' distaste for both. So-called political independents are much likelier to describe both parties with negative attributes rather than positive descriptors, though a significant share did not offer an opinion. Curtis Musser, a 60-year-old unaffiliated voter from Beverly Hills, Fla., said both parties have shifted too far toward the extreme for his liking. He said he is ready for a serious third party to emerge before the next presidential election, pointing to Elon Musk's new America Party, which has been slow to launch. 'Maybe he would get us headed in the right direction,' the retired schoolteacher said. The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Peoples, Sanders and Yoo write for the Associated Press. Peoples reported from New York, Sanders and Yoo from Washington.
Fox News
24 minutes ago
- Fox News
Schumer accused of 'political extortion' as Trump nominees await confirmation
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., joins 'Fox News Live' to discuss Senate Republicans pushing to confirm President Donald Trump's nominees as they accuse Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of trying to slow the process.
