A new poll shows local government leaders are concerned about proposals to repeal or greatly change Michigan’s personal property tax.
Michigan’s personal property tax focuses on assets like furniture, equipment, computers and other temporary investments.
Businesses have complained for years about the personal property tax. Critics complain the tax is an obstacle to reinvestment and attracting new investment to Michigan
But the tax generates hundreds of millions of dollars for local governments.
The University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy polled hundreds of county, city and other local government leaders about the tax.
“74 percent of these local government leaders would be happy to see this tax go away,” says Thomas Ivacko, the center’s program manager "But only if all of the revenues it produces are replaced with some other revenue stream."
Ivacko says most local leaders don’t trust the state legislature will do that.
The state Senate has already passed legislation to repeal the personal property tax, but the legislation has sat in the state House since the Spring.
Still, Republican state lawmakers have been talking about repealing or greatly changing Michigan’s personal property tax by the end of this year.
