The Michigan House adjourned last week without a road funding deal in hand. In the meantime, one citizen group says corporations aren’t carrying their share of the tax load. They’re gathering signatures to put a corporate take hike on the November 2016 ballot. Current State’s Kevin Lavery talks with a spokesman for the Citizens for Fair Taxes coalition.
It appeared for a moment last week that the Michigan House might finally resolve the long-standing road funding debate. Instead, lawmakers adjourned without agreement on a plan. The state is trying to raise $1.2-billion dollars to repair its crumbling roads and bridges. In the meantime, some Michigan residents are trying to take the road funding issue into their own hands. They’re circulating a petition they say would ease some of the tax burden shouldered by individuals and families.
The proposal would raise the corporate income tax rate from its current level of six-percent to 11-percent. The group behind it, Citizens for Fair Taxes, says corporations doing business in Michigan are not paying their fair share. The group says since the Snyder administration took office in 2011, corporations have received a $2-billion tax break, while at the same time, Michigan families have been paying almost that much more in taxes. Citizens for Fair Taxes says their proposal would generate $900-million for road funding. They’re trying to get the corporate income tax hike on the November 2016 ballot.
Current State’s Kevin Lavery talks with Citizens for Fair Taxes spokesman Tom Lutz.