When Detroit leaders first agreed to state oversight of the city’s finances in April 2012, Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration vowed to help collect millions of dollars in unpaid income taxes from residents who work in the suburbs. More than 16 months later, however, the Snyder administration has not yet put forward legislation to require suburban employers to withhold and remit the 2.4 percent city income tax for Detroit residents. Critics say the lack of action stifles the city’s ability to raise revenues needed to invest in vital services and restructure $18.5 billion in debt while in bankruptcy court. “This would be a relatively easy way to help Detroit, but there doesn’t seem to be much (legislative) support for helping Detroit,” said former state Treasurer Robert Kleine, who tried to pursue the legislation in former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration to no avail. One study commissioned by Mayor Dave Bing’s administration estimated Detroit was owed $142 million in uncollected income tax revenue in 2009 from the 54 percent of employed Detroiters known as “reverse commuters” who work in the suburbs. If employers do not automatically withhold taxes from their paychecks, those Detroiters are supposed to estimate and remit the taxes each year on their own. From The Detroit News:
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 16:51:32 +0000
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