Issue Position: Cost of Government

Issue Position

The cost and growth of government has far outpaced the MIchigan family median income level.

During the last fifteen years, the Michigan Median Family Income level has essentially remained stagnant. Meanwhile, we have increased taxes and fees and have given Lansing a 2.5 -- 5 percent annual raise. Imagine if your family had automatic, guaranteed increases in pay over the last fifteen years!

The annual cost to run our state government is approximately $6,000 for every MAN, WOMAN and CHILD. This $6,000 is a hard, fixed cost to do business in Michigan. We are competing with states where this cost of government is much much less.

I will work to eliminate the Michigan Income Tax to make us competitive.

Michigan is doing a little better but not "better enough". We need to do something positively bold to compete with states in our region. Michigan has one of the highest tax burdens. We are competing with several states with NO income tax. These states are gaining billions of our wealth and hundreds of thousands of our citizens. It's difficult to attract industry when our competition (surrounding states) have made drastic and innovative policy changes to make their states more appealing than Michigan. Instead of giving "tax holidays" and tax rebates to certain "hand-picked" companies and industries (film and battery), let's give everyone in Michigan the same tax advantage! Creating a low-tax climate will lure additional businesses to Michigan, employ more people and provide additional (new) tax revenue. I believe government often gets in the way of free enterprise growth and if we're not careful with the fine balance of prudent regulation, this will continue to slow job growth.

Source