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.
Legislative Democrats and activists for senior citizens are crying foul over a legislative ploy by the GOP to prevent a budget proposal to levy taxes on retirement pensions from being placed on the ballot for voter approval.
The legislation contains a $100 cash appropriation, and as such, is immune from voter initiatives to repeal the tax if it is approved by the legislature, reports the Detroit Free Press. That move shields the legislation from recall by voters under a 2001 Supreme Court ruling. That ruling determined that bills containing appropriations were not subject to voter approval.
But Democrats say a vote on the issue should be open to the public.
On Thursday, minority House Democrats assailed the move to block a potential repeal vote. “I think there’s a natural, built-in constituency that would sign that petition” to repeal tax changes, said Rep. Vicki Barnett, D-Farmington Hills.
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, however, sees things differently. He says the appropriation is a legitimate cost of implementing the new tax and would likely increase during the budgeting process.
Currently, pension income for senior citizens are not taxed in the state. Snyder has proposed taxing that income as part of his broad budget proposal he has said contains “shared sacrifice.” In addition to the pension tax, Snyder has proposed eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit which gives low income residents money for working, rather than being on welfare; elimination of business tax credits and the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax and surcharge. The business tax cut would add over a billion dollars to a projected budget deficit of $1.4 billion.
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