On Friday, April 1, 2022, Governor Whitmer officially vetoed HB 5570, which would have suspended Michigan’s gas tax of $.27 per gallon.

Last month, the Michigan House and Senate took swift action to help mitigate soaring gas prices by passing legislation that would have suspended the Michigan fuel tax until September. (See previous articles.)

According to the NFIB Research Foundation’s February Small Business Economic Trend Report, 68 percent of small business owners have had to raise prices due to increased costs in materials and labor. Additionally, owners who cite inflation as their most important business problem increased to 26 percent, the highest level since the third quarter of 1981. Rising gas prices will only cause these numbers to climb.

“Governor Whitmer asked that the federal government suspend the federal fuel tax. We cannot figure out why, with the current budget surplus and federal money to backfill lost dollars, she chose to veto important legislation that could have helped not just small businesses, but all Michiganders,“ said Amanda Fisher, Michigan State Director.

“We know that rising fuel costs go beyond what is paid at the gas pump — these increases are having a chilling effect on an already fragile economy. NFIB is continuing to work with lawmakers to do anything and everything that be done to help lessen the impact of the current situation to small business as Michigan weathers another economic crisis.”