KEY LEGISLATION:
Treasurer Says Businesses Not Backing Services Tax
Michigan Treasurer Jay Rising dismissed notions that
business groups have
been talking seriously of a sales tax on services in their discussion
about
Retailers CEO
Meyer Testifies on
Streamlined Sales Tax
Michigan Retailers Association Chairman and CEO Larry
Meyer urged House Tax
Policy Committee members to pass much-needed legislation leveling the
playing field between "Main Street" businesses and remote
sellers. His
testimony came in anticipation of committee approval of the package
of bills
placing Michigan’s tax code in substantial compliance with the
national
Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement. No vote was taken, however, because
it
appeared the votes were not there to pass the bills from committee until
a
later date.
The required votes were thought to be there when the
committee meeting
started, but Rep. Mike Nofs (R- Battle Creek) informed Chairman Lorence
Wenke (R-Richland) that he was moving from a yes vote to a no. Had Rep.
Paula Zelenko (D-Burton) been present, she could have cast the necessary
yes
vote to move the package from committee. But Rep. Zelenko was absent
because
of pressing family business.
The main dissent continues to come from conservative
Republicans who fear
that their constituents will view this as a new tax or a tax increase.
Once
the bills make it from committee to the House floor, they will again
face
criticism from conservative members of the body, but it is thought the
votes
are there to pass the bills.
MRA will continue to remind members of the House that
this package is of
critical value for Main Street retailers. Those members of the Tax Policy
Committee who voted no will be targeted to see whether their votes can
be
changed. In addition, next week the committee will be sure to have all
its
yes votes present in order to send the package to the House floor for
a vote
before spring recess.
MRA Joins Business
Coalition
Opposing Tobacco Tax Hike
MRA’s Eric Rule spoke at a press conference designed
to educate the
legislature and the public that business groups in Michigan oppose an
increase in the tobacco tax. The event was held to unveil a new coalition,
the Michigan Business Alliance for Fair Taxes (MBAFT), opposed to Governor
Jennifer Granholm’s proposed 75-cent increase in the tobacco tax.
Coalition members said the higher tax would hurt Michigan
businesses because
it would widen the disparity between Michigan and neighboring states.
Michigan’s tobacco tax is currently $1.25, and the proposed $2
tax would
make Michigan’s tobacco tax second highest in the nation, trailing
only New
Jersey at $2.05. Among Michigan’s neighboring states, the tax is
$.98 per
pack in Illinois, $.55 in Indiana and Ohio, $.17 in Missouri and $.03
in Kentucky.
MRA’s Rule shot holes in a recent poll that showed
overwhelming public
approval of the tobacco tax increase to fill Michigan’s current
budget gap.
Rule challenged the phrasing of the polling question, which asserted
that
without the funds, Medicaid coverage would be cut to children and seniors.
Rule also said that if the public knew the numbers of retail jobs that
would
be lost and businesses closed because of lost sales and revenue, the
polling
numbers would turn around.
The tobacco tax legislation is poised for discharge
from the House Commerce
Committee, possibly next week. The move is necessary as a result of
the
efforts of MBAFT to pull off votes of the members of the Commerce Committee.
MBAFT will continue to work to defeat this costly proposal.
Petroleum-Pricing Bill Surfaces Again
A bill to mandate the price a gas station must charge
for gasoline is being
revived, according to sources within the legislature. House Bill 4757
seeks
to set a mandatory minimum price that retailers must charge for gasoline,
even when gas prices are at an all time high.
The bill was referred to a subcommittee workgroup to
be studied as a result
of MRA’s opposition to the bill during committee debate several
months ago.
A recently released revision of the bill is the impetus for the impending
action. MRA has reviewed the revision and believes the legislation remains
anti-consumer and over regulates businesses through price setting. MRA
will
continue to oppose this and any other bill that tries to set prices
for
unregulated products in Michigan.
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
No New Bill Introductions to Report at this Time.
To view the content and current status of retail-related
bills, visit BillTrack,
MRA's legislative tracking database exclusively for members, at
www.retailbilltrack.com
If you are currently receiving Capitol F@cts by fax
and would like to receive
it via e-mail, please contact Kathleen Wilson at 517.372.5656 or
kawilson@retailers.com.
For back issues of online Capitol F@cts, visit MRA's main Capitol F@cts page.
Specific comments or questions regarding this bulletin
should be directed to:
Kathleen Wilson, Administrative Assistant to the Governmental Affairs
Office at
kawilson@retailers.com.
Michigan Retailers Association
603 South Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
517.372.5656
Toll-Free: 800.366.3699
Fax: 517.372.1303
govt_affairs@retailers.com
www.retailers.com
www.mallofmichigan.com
