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Michigan Senate Democrats Try To Force Vote On Pension Tax Before April 15th Deadline

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With the tax filing deadline right around the corner, Michigan Democrats are attacking what they call unfair Republican tax policies.

As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher tells us, they’re especially targeting the state’s new tax on pensions.

On their last day of session before April 15th, Senate Democrats unsuccessfully tried to force a vote to repeal the pension tax. They thought they had a shot, because a handful of Republicans also want to get rid of it.

Democratic Senator Vincent Gregory says the tax burden is shifting from corporations to seniors and middle-class families.

“When Governor Snyder says he wants to cut taxes, he means for businesses, not people,”  he says.

Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Kahn says if Democrats want to repeal the pension tax, they need to come up with a way to pay for it.

“Budgeting in the state of Michigan cannot be done one-sided,”  he says.

He says taxing pensions like most other types of retirement accounts is fairer than pushing the tax burden back onto businesses.

Jake Neher is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He covers the State Legislature and other political events in Lansing.
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