07/15/2005
CONTACT: Charles Owens or Keith Carey, (517) 485-3409
MICHIGAN -- The National Federation of Independent Business/Michigan, the state's largest small-business advocacy group, today announced overwhelming support for a package of tax cut bills reported out of the Michigan House Tax Policy Committee earlier this week. NFIB's endorsement is based on a survey of its members in which 85 percent of respondents declared support for the tax plans.
Charlie Owens, NFIB/Michigan state director, testified before the House Tax Policy Committee that he was encouraged by the single business tax proposal being considered by the committee. He offered praise to both Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate tax committees for taking the time to obtain business owner input on the single business tax and state business climate issues during statewide hearings on an earlier tax plan proposal by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
"NFIB did not take an official position on the governor’s tax proposal until a member survey was conducted, and such was the case with the House proposal," Owens noted. "Fair is fair, and many of the concerns raised during the statewide hearings on the governor’s proposal appear to have been addressed in the House tax proposal."
The governor's plan did not fare as well when surveyed by the group in the spring with almost 80 percent of respondents rejecting the proposal. As a consequence, the governor's plan was all but declared dead due to strong opposition from small business and other companies around the state.
The House tax proposal survey gave a background on the issue and included arguments for and against the plan. Members surveyed were then asked to vote on the question: "Do you support the State House proposal to change the Michigan Single Business Tax?"
The results were: 85 percent Yes, 9.3 percent No, and 5.7 percent Undecided.
"With such strong support, NFIB will work to secure passage of the House plan in the coming weeks," Owens said.
Member surveys are conducted to determine NFIB's position on key small-business issues.
