Michigan business and income tax changes not on Whitmer's agenda

For measures aimed at growing Michigan's population, look to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's budget presentation next month. But don't expect tax increases to be part of the equation.

The culminating report from Whitmer's population growth council has been on the governor's desk for about a month. It lays out a wide range of proposals from paying people to move to Michigan to exploring a passenger rail line from Detroit to Grand Rapids. The council largely focuses on how to attract young people to Michigan, an aging state experiencing sluggish population growth.

Whitmer didn't mention any specific population growth ideas from the council that caught her eye when asked.

"I think that there are a lot of things that are from the work group that they put together that you will see reflected in the budget that I introduce," she told reporters at an event United Auto Workers Local 51 in Detroit on Wednesday celebrating Democrats' tax cut for retirees.

"In terms of stand-alone legislation, we'll be working with the Legislature to identify what really is doable. But as we think about everything from place-making to lowering costs so that people can get enhanced skill sets, these have been things we've been working on but that we will continue to focus on as well as housing," Whitmer said of ideas for retaining and attracting Michigan residents.

The governor asked her council to identify ways to pay for its population growth proposals, but the group said in its final report that it ran out of time to do so. The group, however, recommended only considering tax proposals after exhausting all other revenue sources such as federal dollars, the private sector and philanthropy.

Whitmer appears ready to heed that call. She essentially ruled out changes to the way Michigan taxes workers' income and businesses.

When she served in the Michigan Senate and Republicans controlled the chamber, Whitmer railed against then-Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's tax overhaul as a business tax cut paid for on the backs of retirees and low-income workers.

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In the very first state budget Whitmer put forward as governor, she proposed restoring the tax breaks for retirees she celebrated Wednesday by creating a new business tax for pass-through entities. But, ultimately, the legislation signed by Whitmer reversed some but not all of the Snyder-era tax changes. Democrats restored tax relief for low-income workers and retirees impacted by Snyder's tax overhaul but left business taxes untouched.

Whitmer also told reporters she does not envision pursuing changes to the way Michigan taxes businesses in her second term. Neither does she anticipate — at least in the immediate future — changes to Michigan's flat income tax that taxes low- and high-wage earners at the same rate.

Whitmer noted her past support for a graduated income tax that would increase the tax rate as individuals' income increases. "That's not a reflection of anything that I'm proposing right now," she said.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan business, income tax changes not in Whitmer's plans