“I have said seniors and working families are where we need to prioritize,” she told a group gathered at a senior citizens center in Detroit.
Whitmerwants to restore a tax break for public pensions. And she wants to expand the earned income tax credit for low-income families.
Billions of dollars in federal recovery funds could help in the short term to offset the revenue loss to the state budget.
“These are ways that we can help people that have played by the rules, are working their tails off, and struggling to get ahead with inflation and all the other pressures,” she said. “That’s why this has to be our focus: Real tax relief for people who need it the most – our senior citizens and our working families.”
There may be room to work there.
Republican Senator Jim Runestad, who chairs theSenate Finance Committee, wants to raise the personal exemption for older taxpayers.
“We’re proposing an across-the-board tax cut for everyone who’s over 65 whether they’re back to work because they can’t make ends meet with the inflation, whether they’ve got a 401-K, an IRA, a public pension, a private pension,” he told Michigan Public Radio. “I know we have a meeting coming, trying to get a feel for how open she is to a more broad-based tax cut.”
Republicans also want to roll back corporate income taxes. But Whitmer says that could be a budget-buster in future years. Whitmer says the roughly $2.5 billion plan is not sustainable without big cuts to state services or a new, permanent revenue source.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org