The following column was published by the Lapeer County Press on Saturday, April 5

The deadline for federal and Michigan state personal income taxes is soon approaching. “Tax Day” was first introduced in 1913, when the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified.

While tax dollars help fund vital services like roads, schools and public safety across our communities, we must also recognize that letting hardworking people keep more of what they earn is crucial to our state’s present and future. There should be a commonsense balance that respects taxpayers.

Budgets remain tight for people in our communities and across Michigan. I talk with many people across Lapeer, Genesee and Tuscola counties who lay out how strained their budgets are from the costs of groceries, gas, childcare, and other everyday expenditures. At the same time, they see news reports on state budget proposals from the governor that stretch over $80 billion and use taxpayer money to pay for it.

A lot of people look at that and say “this just doesn’t add up.” They feel state government has more than enough taxpayer money to cover its spending.

And they’re right.

Last month, I voted for House Bill 4170, which would lower the state income tax rate to 4.05% as of Jan. 1, 2025, ensuring that Michigan taxpayers keep more than $700 million of their hard-earned income each year.

Because of large state revenue growth that exceeded inflation, an existing law had automatically lowered the rate to 4.05% from 4.25%. Even as the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency stated that the reduction should be permanent given the intent of the original bill, the state Attorney General declared that it was only temporary and the governor pressed forward with the higher tax rate to help balance her budget plans.

Unfortunately, this “creative” budgeting followed a pattern the last few years of state government nickel-and-diming residents and adding unnecessary taxes and fees on workers and small business owners. The income tax hike was just one of many. HB 4170 reinforces the original 2015 law intended to trigger the automatic income tax reduction — protecting taxpayers and preventing future administrations from undermining permanent tax relief as the Whitmer administration did in 2024.

In January, state budget experts projected that Michigan would collect $850 million more in revenue than previously anticipated — more than enough to cover this needed tax cut!

Lowering the rate is critical for workers and families as they see rising costs. Every dollar they’re able to save counts. It’s also the right way forward for our state. Data shows some of the fastest growing states in the country have low-income tax rates or no income taxes. What kind of message does it send to families and job providers currently in Michigan and ones looking to locate here when the leaders of our state take our personal income tax rate in the opposite direction? This move put our state at a disadvantage immediately, and I am working to correct it by voting for this legislation.

Hardworking people across our region and the state know how to spend their money more effectively than state government. I’ll continue to follow this principle in the Legislature as we look for more ways to return money to taxpayers.