Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall said Friday that controlling property tax increases could be in the fall agenda for this legislative session.
Hall (R-Richland Township) appeared on the Michigan Public Television show “Off The Record,” where he said the property tax burden on many homeowners is too high.
“We want to put something forward in the Legislature and potentially on the ballot that would help give people property tax relief,” he said in the online-only segment of the show. He said the Legislature putting a question on the ballot is a possibility.
“Once we get through this budget on September 30, then I think our next focus is going to be how do we tackle this issue, and at that time, I’ll have a good read on whether that’s something we can pull together for this election, but we’re definitely considering it,” he said.
He says tax limitation laws in Michigan don’t do much to limit tax increases when property changes hands. The cost of housing is a big issue in Michigan right now with proposals in the Legislature to address the availability of affordable homes.
Hall said he does not favor eliminating property taxes altogether because of the revenue loss to schools and local governments. There is a petition campaign gathering signatures for a ballot question to eliminate property taxes and divert revenue from other taxes to make up for the loss.
But Hall says those conversations won’t begin in earnest until the state budget gets wrapped up. The Legislature is six weeks past the statutory deadline for adopting a spending plan, which leaves funding for K-12 schools, higher education, and local governments limbo while they are already well into their fiscal years.
