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.
The Michigan House of Representatives approved the Senate substitute of House Bill 5408 during an emergency session Saturday afternoon by a vote of 66-42 that put an end to the 6 percent sales tax on certain services.
“The Michigan sales tax is repealed upon signature by the governor,” said Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, who chaired the session.
The service tax will be replaced by a 21.99 percent surcharge on the taxes they’ll already pay under the new Michigan Business Tax (MBT), effective Jan. 1, but the surcharge will sunset in 2017. It could also end as early as 2014 if certain positive economic conditions are met. The surcharge is expected to replace the entire $600 million in revenue the service tax would have raised.
Earlier in the morning, just after 5 a.m., the Senate voted 33-4 to approve the then tentative agreement that repealed the tax They missed the 12:01 a.m. Saturday deadline despite convening an hour before the deadline, but the bill grants legal protection to those affected businesses if they fail to collect the service tax until the effective date of the new law that replaces it.
The negotiations between Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Lt. Governor John Cherry, House Speaker Andy Dillon, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer concluded around 1 a.m. Saturday, but it took another few hours to get the bill in the senators’ hands and up for a vote.
The sales tax — enacted in the wee hours of Oct. 1 to help erase the $1.8 billon state budget deficit — was supposed to go into effect on Dec. 1, but it came under immediate fire from some business groups and small businesses affected by the tax.
On Wednesday, the House had approved HB 5408 with a higher surcharge after working with various business groups and negotiations had broken down with Senate Republicans. Senate leaders then called the Senate into session Friday and began serous negotiations.
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