NFIB Urges "NO" Vote on Data Center Bills

Date: December 03, 2015

December
3, 2015 (Lansing) – The state’s leading small business organization,
the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), urged
lawmakers to vote “NO” on a package of bills that would provide tax incentives
to lure a Nevada based business to locate in the state. The legislation to encourage
the Switch Corporation to locate a data center in western Michigan is on a fast
track for passage this week.

“This
proposal is an unfortunate departure from the successful fiscal policies that
have dramatically improved Michigan’s overall business climate for all businesses
and citizens of our state,” said NFIB State Director Charlie Owens. “It is
reminiscent of the failed economic development policies of the previous
Granholm administration – a failed policy that is still haunting our state with
more than $9 billion in unclaimed credits casting a shadow of uncertainty over
future budgets and fiscal decisions.”

Lawmakers
did broaden the focus of the bills to include all data center operations – not just
the Switch Corporation, however Owens said that the proposals still unfairly favor
one industry over others that have been located in the state and paying taxes
without such preferred treatment. The Senate Fiscal Agency estimates that the
proposed breaks could cost the state budget more than $200 million.

“We
offered, in both House and Senate Committees, an opportunity to make changes to
these bills to broaden their scope by increasing the current small business
Personal Property Tax exemption of $80,000 of True Cash Value to $160,000,”
said Owens. “Absent this suggested change, we cannot support these bills and we
urge members of the House and Senate to vote no on this proposal.”

“Since
more than 90 percent of all businesses in the state are small businesses (using
the SBA definition of less than 500 employees), our proposed change would have
made the proposed legislation a more broad based economic development proposal,”
said Owens.

Owens
said that the bills being considered for passage did not include the suggested
change at the time of this release.

For
more information about NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.

 

Related Content: Small Business News | Michigan

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