KEY LEGISLATION:
House GOP Offers
SBT Tax Proposal
House Republicans announced their economic plan, which they claim is
designed to jumpstart Michigan’s ailing economy. Speaker of the
House Craig
DeRoche (R-Novi) said that Michigan needs a plan to help the state get
out
of the economic cellar.
Granholm Opposes
Item Pricing Modernization Act
Governor Jennifer Granholm has publicly stated her opposition to MRA’s
House
Bill 4636, which would modernize the way retailers price-mark merchandise.
Granholm opposed efforts to modernize the law when she was attorney
general,
and even though retail has worked exhaustively behind the scenes to
win her
support or neutrality on the reforms, she apparently has chosen to back
the
status quo.
Granholm also took the opportunity to take a swipe at Attorney General
Mike
Cox, whom she alleged is not enforcing the current item pricing law
adequately. Cox countered that the law is outdated and not of great
importance to the seniors with whom he has talked. He also criticized
the
governor for talking out of both sides of her mouth by badmouthing the
bill
to reporters but not industry lobbyists: “she didn’t tell
that to the Costco
and Home Depot lobbyists, did she?” Cox has chosen to focus his
office’s
attention on serious crime in the state rather than play to the cameras
by
alleging that retailers are looking to scam consumers.
HB 4636 is currently in limbo after winning approval in the House Commerce
Committee on June 21. It is poised for passage in the House, but some
union
opposition is currently delaying action. Efforts are being made to ease
labor’s concerns over the bill, but the legislation is tentatively
scheduled
for passage in the House in September either way.
SBT Tax Rewrite
Bills Move to House Floor
The House GOP’s plan to rewrite the Single Business Tax (SBT) passed
from
the House Commerce Committee and could move through the full House to
the
Senate as early as next week. House Bills 4922, 4972 and 4973 would
provide
more than $315 million in annual business tax cuts.
The bills represent shorter-term tax cuts to provide businesses with
immediate relief. A more comprehensive and long-term approach will
apparently be part of a separate debate in the near future.
In a nutshell, the bills would:
• Create a 25-percent credit for property taxes paid on industrial
personal
property and a 10-percent credit for property taxes paid on commercial
property;
• Change the apportionment of what is taxed under the SBT to 100
percent
sales;
• Phase out the remaining 50 percent of the tax on healthcare benefits
in
four years, beginning in 2008;
• Cut the SBT rate paid by about 33,000 small businesses in half
(from 2 to
1 percent).
KEY BILL INTRODUCTIONS:
No new introductions 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
