FeedsLegislators promise action on new business tax
The new Michigan Business Tax has been in place for only a few months and it’s obvious some business owners aren’t happy about it.
State Rep. Phil LaJoy (R-Canton), said he hosted a town hall meeting on the subject this week because of the number of calls that came into his office.
“My office received numerous calls from local business owners who had their taxes increase by so much that they are being forced to lay off employees or hold off on expanding their business, said LaJoy. “We have found that many business owners who attended had similar stories – this tax is driving businesses out of Michigan and hurting the job market. We must do something about it.”
LaJoy said the tax punished growing businesses.
The meeting took place at the Canton Administration Building on Tuesday morning.
The MBT was a controversial ‘fix’ to the Single Business Tax, which expired at the end of last year. It was designed to be easier to apply and reduce the overall tax burden on Michigan businesses and therefore expand business opportunities in the state.
As initial tax bills have been sent out, that appears to not be the case, said State Rep. John Pastor (R-Livonia). He, like LaJoy voted against the issue. He said he’s heard from business owners, too, who have complained about an increase in the taxes they pay.
“People don’t mind paying their fair share of taxes, but they don’t want to be gouged,” said Pastor. “Michigan’s businesses are leaving the state because of the unfriendly atmosphere we offer; no one wants to live, work or do business in a state where they are going to be taxed more than other states.”
Of particular concern, is that the tax negatively impacts small business owners more than large corporations, said State Rep. Dave Law (R-Commerce Township), who attended the town hall meeting, too.
“I have heard from many businesses that their tax liability under the MBT has increased upwards of 300 percent,” said Law. “A tax that was billed by the governor as a simple and fair tax has turned out to be a nightmarishly complex massive tax increase.
We must continue to fight to provide business owners the tax relief they need in these difficult economic times.”
“Small businesses are the future of our state; this tax is hurting them the most and we must help the small businesses that are trying to diversify our economy,” added Pastor.
The legislators said they would take the concerns of the business owners to Lansing as they work on another fix for the tax.
