I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Republican candidate for governor Rick Snyder is not a big fan of the generous tax credits — up to 42 percent of the total costs — used to attract Hollywood production companies to make movies in the state of Michigan. The Detroit Free Press reports:
When asked whether Snyder supports or opposes the tax breaks, his spokesman, Bill Nowling said: “He thinks the program in the long term is not financially sustainable. Having said that, he recognizes there are businesses in the state that have made investments based on those (tax) credits.”
Nowling said Snyder believes the tax breaks need to be looked at because of Michigan’s budget woes and the candidate is concerned that other states could offer bigger incentives. Snyder is willing to meet with industry representatives, Nowling said.
His opponent, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, took a slightly different tack:
Democratic candidate Virg Bernero wants to give the tax breaks more time and then see whether they are making the state money, said Cullen Schwarz, Bernero’s spokesman.
“We’re in a global economy. Other states are using these tools to attract jobs and economic development,” Schwarz said. “We can’t make Michigan play with one hand tied behind its back.”
The film tax credits, and the use of tax credits in general, have become a political issue because state revenues continue to decline while the state gives away more than $30 billion a year in tax credits, more than the total annual tax revenue. Most experts say that the state needs to have some means of determining which tax credits are worth keeping and which are not.
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