LANSING - BREAKING NEWS - Glardon votes for historic plan to fix roads and bridges,protect schools and other services The state House early this morning approved an historic plan that empowers the people of Michigan to decide whether they are willing to pay an extra penny in sales tax to raise $1.3 billion to help fix roads and protect schools, state Rep. Ben Glardon announced. The bipartisan agreement will allow Michigan voters to decide in a statewide ballot in May 2015 whether to approve a one-percent increase in the sales tax to pump more than a billion dollars to fix roads and bridges. The plan would also eliminate the sales tax on motor fuels to help ensure competitive prices at the pump and create guaranteed revenue for schools and local governments. “This historic roads plan is the culmination of lots of hard work and compromise from both sides of the aisle,” said Glardon, R-Owosso. “I like the fact that it’s a bipartisan agreement that addresses many of the concerns I heard from local residents. People want better roads but they also want our schools and local government services protected. These measures also support our important public transit system and rail, and help low-income residents. It’s a viable plan that is an example of democracy in its purest form, because none of it will happen without the voice and approval of Michigan voters.” The plan would eliminate the existing 19-cent per gallon tax on gasoline and the 15-cent per gallon tax on diesel fuel, and help create a 14.9 percent wholesale tax on the average price of gasoline and the average price of diesel fuel. The plan also ensures that transportation taxes actually go toward fixing roads and bridges, and provides tax relief for lower-income Michigan residents. The plan restores the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in tax year 2016, providing more than $260 million to help low-income residents. The road plan includes HBs 5460, 4251, 4539, 4630, 5167, 5477, 5492, 5493, Senate Bill 847 and House Joint Resolution UU.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 11:27:03 +0000
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