The Michigan Chamber is extremely disappointed that Governor Whitmer vetoed Chamber led legislation to give taxpayers an estimated $1 billion in property tax relief.
HB 5761 and HB 5810 introduced by Representative Jim Lower would have provided an extension to pay the upcoming summer property tax levy for both businesses and individuals negatively impacted by state mandated shut down orders or the recent flooding in the Midland area. Businesses that have not been open or severely restricted in their operations will not have the cash on hand to pay this significant expense. Without the relief this legislation provides, more businesses will close, and our economic recovery will be greatly delayed.
A simple extension to pay these taxes would have been a commonsense solution to a major problem. The bills were approved with unanimous support in the House and with strong bipartisan support in the Senate. Only 4 no votes were cast throughout the entire process.
The problems with the legislation cited in the Governor’s veto letter were not raised until after the bills passed and could have been rectified in follow up legislation. The fact that the Governor claims local governments found this much needed relief too complicated to administer is insulting. Nothing about running a business these days is not complicated. Creative solutions take effort on both taxpayers and tax collectors. The constitutional issues raised could have been fixed in follow up legislation. Workgroups were already meeting to resolve any outstanding issues raised after passage.
For months the Michigan Chamber worked collaboratively with groups representing local governments and schools to craft the proposal contained in HB 5761 and HB 5810 and by the time the bills passed there was no opposition from any interest group. In fact, the workgroup (that included local governments, outside bond experts and Treasury) was meeting to discuss technical corrections to adopt in follow up legislation when news broke that the Governor vetoed the program altogether. Local governments know that a large number of taxpayers will not be able to pay their property taxes this year and the legislation contained a mechanism that would alleviate the cashflow problems non-payments would have created for them.
It’s important for Michigan Chamber members to understand that the Governor turned her back on busiensses and individual that are still struglgling due to her state-wide economic lockdown. shut down. The program passed by the legislature might not have been perfect but, it was absolutely necessary, and action had to be taken. Everyone involved and impacted by HB 5761 and HB 5810 worked constructively at resolving a real problem facing Michigan taxpayers and would have continued to do so to address the questionable concerns the Governor raised after the bills were passed.
Sales, Use and Withholding (SUW) Tax Relief Vetoed As well.
Governor Whitmer also vetoed SB 935, SB 936 and SB 937 which would have spread July and August’s SUW taxes over several months. The Governor also vetoed these bills which had bipartisan support. The bills would have included accelerated filers while relief programs offered in the past excluded them.
Cashflow issues will be the largest problem facing businesses as they reopen. Both these packages would have alleviated these cashflow issues. After the aggressive actions taken to curb the coronavirus and throw the economy into a dismal downward spiral, vetoing these bills is denying businesses the lifelines needed in such turbulent times.
For more information on these two issues, please contact Dan Papineau at dpapineau@michamber.com.