Tag: Taxes

Reposted from The Mackinac Center for Public Policy in time for Rick Snyder's State of the state address tonight:

Don't Bail Out Detroit with State Tax Dollars

Unfortunately, there may be a hook: A requirement that the state treasury contribute, which would convert voluntary private generosity into a coerced taxpayer bailout.

A state bailout of Detroit is a terrible idea. It creates moral hazard and adds to the overly generous financial support the city has for years received from state taxpayers.

Its actually been punished in 39 states as of 2012 by way of personal property tax on business.  Equipment, shelving, tools, furniture, etc..; bought, then taxed at 6%, then repeatedly taxed as 'wealth' like non-homesteaded property. In this way, business owners are told (as they are with smoking laws, work rules, and being converted to tax collectors) they really don't own JACK.  None of it is under any absolute control, and frankly if the Business owner doesn't make a buck?  They are still told to "Cough it up sunshine, you owe what you owe."

Just for being here.

And its not just the cost of having stuff laying around that punishes the Michigan entrepreneur.  As is the case with many government rules, its the cost of compliance. The Tax Foundation writes:

"TPP taxation is "taxpayer active," meaning that individuals and businesses must fill out tax forms listing all of their taxable personal property, adding a compliance cost to the total cost of administering personal property tax. This is in contrast to real property taxation, which is "taxpayer passive": a statement valuing the land, improvements, and property tax owed is sent to property owners, alleviating compliance costs while adding some cost for government to administer the tax."

But relief could be in sight soon. The state of Michigan will have a surplus.

"The Senate Fiscal Agency projected $1.3 billion in increased revenue over a May 2013 estimating conference. House Fiscal pegged the number at $1.1 billion, while Treasury offered a more conservative $708 million, citing uncertainty over unclaimed Michigan Business Tax credits."

Given the compliance costs can be transformed into profitable effort of growing business, and the added incentive for business attraction, (particularly to manufacturing and its associated equipment expenses) job growth could well explode going forward.

Welcome to Detroit from A Wild Kristen Appeared on Vimeo.

As noted from WXYZ.

One of the team members tells 7 Action News that their professor even shed a tear while watching the ad.

Some of the ideas are familiar, but limited in ways typically embraced by establishment Republicans.

Rand Paul's visit to Detroit was precipitated by a conference call being reported by the Detroit News. In it, Senator Paul speaks of enterprise zones, with taxes so low as to "bail yourselves out". Adding to this an loosened visa incentive for a flow of foreign "entrepreneurs" into the city.

Paul, widely considered a 2016 potential presidential candidate, said he will introduce legislation Monday to create "economic freedom zones" by dramatically lowering taxes in depressed areas and loosen visa rules to encourage foreign entrepreneurs to immigrate to the city.

"We hope to create taxes so low you essentially are able to bail yourselves out," Paul said Thursday in a conference call outlining his plan.

I wonder how that would work?

Maybe something like this?

"Mr Chen, you are welcome to stay, invest, develop, and work in our country. However, you are limited to this particular region. If for some reason you are not satisfied there, I guess you are out of luck."

"Welcome to the Hotel Detroit. Love it, or get the hell out of our country.."

Which of course begs the question of what happens to those who emigrate, and decide to move somewhere a little safer than Baghdad of Michigan? When "loosening visa requirements," it seems that a genie let out is a little hard to stuff back in the lamp. Its hard to imagine 'restrictive' movement placed on those who simply seek a better life, and upon finding out that Detroit is no better than the hole they left, it is highly likely that they will indeed "seek" such a place.

And it seems we have heard those words about foreigners feeling welcomed before.

The new Mayor and council however have a nearly impossible mission of making Detroit acceptable and inviting enough to attract new business and workers.  Aside from the problem of the obvious social decay allowed for decades, there is a problem of theft by government.  As the Mackinac Center rightly points out:

".. Michigan has been bailing out Detroit for years and it's only delayed the problems. In fact, Detroit gets favors from the state of Michigan that no other city receives, and the state has made these rules to try to get the city more revenue to deal with its problems.

Detroit is the only city in Michigan that can assess a utility tax. It is added on top of monthly bills charged to residents and businesses. The tax expired in 1988 but was resurrected in 1990.  .."

Perhaps they should pay attention:

Where else can the feel good elitist Lefties spend taxpayer money anymore with nary a peep from the paying-forever class.

Parks programs are a great excuse to build dynasties, develop social connections, ensure a support base for political aspirees.  But who can argue against the 'healthy impact' a strong parks and rec program has on your local community? The claims are ever-so-common, and made by those who operate such programs, yet would be hard pressed to prove such assertions if actually challenged.

Mission creep within a department assigned to make accessible park and land resources owned by a local municipality, is near guaranteed when operators or directors discover the ultimate weakness of their Parks & Rec degrees.  That a degree earned while squandering 4 to 6 years away in our taxpayer subsidized university systems has little to no value in the real world, except where people are too busy to note the difference between government programming and individual initiative.

For SE Michigan, it will be ALL of Michigan's taxpayers who will be soon footing the bill for programming and access they will never use.   In Grand traverse County, the political will to support such 'programming' in our parks is about to be tested.

To which I say, "About damned time".

It starts off:

The chamber's Board of Directors decided to back the district's millage proposals Tuesday morning.

"It was the board's consensus that strong schools are an integral component of successful communities -- communities that retain and attract talent, jobs, and investment," Doug Luciani, the chamber's president and CEO, stated in an email to TCAPS officials.

The article which spawned the headline touches on the example of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce, and its support last year of a $100,000,000.00 boondoggle, and even more easily this year's reduced ($47,000,000.00 total) offering.  It supports putting more of a burden on its members and those who bear the increasing liability of property ownership.

taxable properties the school receives funding from has several classifications.

• Agricultural
  
• Commercial
  
• Industrial
  
• Residential
  
• Personal Property Classification from Commercial, Industrial, and Utilities.

Remember those numbers highlighted above.

If you want to fix the roads with a millage, actually fix the roads. Don't add a bunch of new projects, especially those not wanted by the residents of the street who live there.

Genoa Township has a new projects road millage on the ballot November 5th. It raises taxes 1.5 mills for 15 years. There is a blog site up giving several reasons to defeat the millage. Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods.

Organized opposition has been formed to oppose this millage. Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods. PO Box 1182. Brighton MI 48116. So far enough money has been raised for a direct mail piece to likely voting households. AV mailing is out and another one is on the way. With more money, we can have signs and other GOTV efforts to defeat this thing. I'm consulting on this pro bono. This is "family business" to me and I'm not taking any cut from this project.