LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, former House Speaker Kevin Cotter, former Gov. Rick Snyder, and former Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof on Tuesday issued the following statements after Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Opinion No. 7320, stating that her opinion is that the scheduled income tax rate cut under a 2015 law is for one year only and not a permanent reduction:
Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt — “The level to which Gov. Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel will go to deny the working people of Michigan tax relief has reached a new low. Despite sitting on a $9 billion surplus, and after dolling out billions in corporate welfare, Gov. Whitmer and the Democrats in Lansing have decided to deny taxpayers permanent tax relief. I was there in 2015, and it could not have been more clear what the language said or what our intent was. Unfortunately, it is also clear where the interests of Gov. Whitmer and Democrats lie. And it’s not with taxpayers.”
Speaker Kevin Cotter — “When we crafted this deal in 2015, it was clear to everyone involved that the income tax cut trigger would create a permanent tax cut, should it be activated. Fiscal analysts, legislative legal counsel, as well as legislators and staff alike, all understood what was enacted. It’s disappointing the attorney general has decided to ignore that and play partisan games at the expense of Michigan workers.”
Gov. Rick Snyder — “The income tax trigger was intended to be a permanent reduction activated when state government had a large surplus. Our taxpayers worked hard to earn those dollars and government should not keep them when there are not critical expenses to pay for. The attorney general’s opinion today is an unreasonable overreach of what was agreed upon. Michigan taxpayers deserve the surplus dollars now and into the future.”
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof — “We made sure that, if the government coffers became full, the first people to see relief would be hardworking taxpayers. But if Gov. Whitmer and Michigan Democrats want to deny that relief and raise taxes on Michigan families, they should draft a bill and vote on it.”
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