Ax the Tax in the News
The Coalition to Ax the Tax is making news all over Michigan.
Nov.30
Marquette Mining Journal
Service tax shuffle doesn't affect ski hill, yet
Grand Rapids Press
Businesses brace for new service tax
Associated Press
Businesses preparing for service tax
Detroit Free Press - Susan Tompor
Bracing for the service tax
Detroit Free Press
Lansing bogs down over pending 6% service tax
Detroit News
Lansing impasse on taxes irks firms
Detroit News - Dan Howes
State lawmakers stumble yet again
WZZM TV 13
Farmers frustrated with Lansing and new service tax
WILX TV 10
Businesses brace themselves for new tax
Booth News
New 6 percent service tax looms as talks falter
Nov. 29
Detroit News
Service tax repeal taxing lawmakers
Detroit Free Press
Talks go to the brink
Nov. 28
WWMT - TV 3 - Kalamazoo
Business owners prepare for service tax
Nov. 27
WZZM TV 13 - Kalamazoo/Grand Rapids
New Service Tax woes
Leelanau Enterprise
As clock ticks, new service tax still up in the air
Nov. 26
Crain's Detroit Business
Change, repeal possible for new bz tax
Nov. 21
WILX TV 10 - Lansing
The Rush To Repeal The Service Tax
Detroit News
Senate passes replacement for state services tax
Detroit Free Press
State faces a battle of tax plans
Nov. 20
Associated Press
Michigan Senate approves replacement for service tax
Detroit Free Press
Senate to seek tax compromise
Detroit News
Mich. Senate likely to pass tax surcharge
Nov. 19
Detroit Regional Chamber
Michigan Voters Solidly Oppose Service Tax
Crain's Detroit Business
6% solution levies 100% tax on patience of biz
Nov. 16
Detroit News
Michigan legislators close on service tax replacement
Detroit News - Nolan Finley
Tax start-up tab: $906 million
Detroit Free Press
Vote to repeal services tax could come next week
Nov. 15
Detroit Regional Chamber
Service Tax Compliance Costs May Reach $900 Million
Livingston Daily Press and Argus
State chamber urges axing of new service tax
Nov. 12
Investment News
Michigan service-tax foes gain ground
Midland Daily News
Stamas: Surcharge on main business tax too high
Crain's Detroit Business
Compliance costs accrue even if tax likely to die
Nov. 9
Associated Press
House votes to kill, replace service tax
Detroit Free Press
House approves business surcharge
Detroit News
House votes to kill, replace service tax
Petoskey News-Review
Tourists business opposes tax
Nov. 8
Detroit Free Press
Services tax dying: What next?
Detroit News
Senate votes to kill sales tax on services
Crain's Detroit Business
State Senate approves repealing service tax
WLNS TV - 6 Lansing
Lawmakers Trying to Oust Service Tax
Nov. 7
Detroit Free Press
Services tax takes a step toward repeal
Detroit News
Service tax loses ground
Detroit News
Howell chamber joins push to repeal service tax
Hillsdale Daily News
Sen. Brown trying to repeal service tax
Crain's Detroit Business
Service tax repeal bill receives committee approval
Associated Press
Michigan lawmakers continue move toward repealing services tax
Nov. 6
Detroit Free Press
Sessions target service tax
Associated Press
Kellogg CEO urges lawmakers to scrap new 'headquarters' tax
Detroit News
Lansing's hunting break hardly that
Macomb Daily
Legislators take break; budget issues remain
Nov. 5
Gaylord Herald Times
State Senate delays start of service tax
Nov. 2
United Press International
Granholm plans to repeal Mich. service tax
Grand Rapids Press
Opponents start petition drive to repeal service tax
Detroit News
Senate votes to delay sales tax
The Oakland Press
Senate votes to postpone service tax
Lansing State Journal
'Ax the tax' rally pushes for repeal
Associated Press
Mich. Senate votes to delay service tax; repeal to come next
Western Michigan Business Review
Service tax spurs chambers to action
WILX - TV 10 - Lansing
People Outraged Over "Luxury" Service Tax
WZZM - TV 13 - Grand Rapids
"Ax the Tax" Campaign Launched
WJRT - TV 12 - Flint
Local group hopes to stop services sales tax
Macomb Daily
Lawmaker targets service tax repeal
Detroit Free Press
Senate OKs delay in services tax start
Booth Newspapers
Lawmakers look to repeal service tax
Michigan Business Review
Business, lawmakers target service taxes
Nov. 1
Detroit News
Lansing may repeal service tax
Western Michigan Business Review
Kalamazoo, G.R. groups unite against sales tax
Associated Press
New state budget deal already under the gun
Crain's Detroit Business
Opponents of service tax to start petition drive for repeal
Booth News
State settles spending, turns to taxes
The Oakland Press
Tax increases under attack
Saginaw News
Saginaw Chamber members protest sales tax hike
Oct. 29
Crain's Detroit Business
Lawmakers Mull Delaying Service Tax
Grand Haven Tribune
Tourism association calls for repeal of services tax
Oct. 26
WLUC TV 6 - Marquette
New Service Tax May Cripple Tourism Agencies
Western Michigan Business Review
Coalition Pushes for Service Tax Repeal
Oct. 24
Saginaw News
Turmoil over taxes
Businesses are grappling with uncertainties as the deadline nears for an expanded tax to take hold.
Who has to pay the 6 percent service tax? How should businesses collect it? And can they get out of it?
"Most of our customers are quite shocked when they hear that we're going to have to charge them more," said Ray Kade, manager of Carpet World Wide, 5775 State in Saginaw Township. (more)
Oct. 23
Kalamazoo Gazette
New state tax confuses as Dec. 1 nears
St. Joe Herald Palladium
New Michigan tax confuses businesses as start date nears
Traverse City Record Eagle
Tax on services confuses businesses
Battle Creek Enquirer
Budget specter rises again
Slowing down the budget negotiations are efforts to repeal the new tax on a hodgepodge of services including astrology, landscaping and investment planning. The levy's start date is Dec. 1.
People in the business community have formed the Ax the Tax Coalition and won the ear of state Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, who introduced legislation on Wednesday. Co-sponsoring repeal measures are two senators who voted for the service tax and since have been targeted for recall, Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, and Jim Barcia, D-Bay City. (more)
Oct. 22
Crain’s Detroit Business
Repeal and replace
With efforts to repeal the state's new service tax ramping up in the Capitol, changes to another tax paid by business — the new Michigan Business Tax — are being eyed for replacement revenue. (more)
Holland Sentinel
Worry grows as tax looms
Lansing State Journal
New tax confuses businesses as Dec. 1 deadline approaches
Marquette Mining Journal
State’s new services assessment blasted
Muskegon Chronicle
Confusion reigns as businesses ponder tax
Oct. 21
Associated Press
New tax confuses businesses as start date nears
Businessman David Rhoa offers a blunt assessment of the confusion surrounding Michigan's expanded tax on business services.
"The Legislature and governor pulled a pin on a grenade and handed it to small businesses and said, 'Hold onto this for a second,'" says Rhoa, 39, whose family owned firm in Kalamazoo, Lake Michigan Mailers, employs 56 workers. "Now we're left to deal with it." (more)
WZZM TV 13
Service Tax Repeal Support Growing
Support in Michigan's political and business community is growing to repeal the extension of the sales tax to sixty services enacted just under three weeks ago.
Grand Rapids Press
Service tax miffs business owners
Gail Andrus Travel owner Gail Andrus believes she has been singled out for a tax increase confusing and potentially devastating to her business.
Mike Verhulst, owner of Summit Landscape Management Inc., said while he is going to have to charge customers more for design services, he won't have to do so for installation for the state's 6 percent services tax.
Andrus and Verhulst are among the business people angry about the state's new services tax, which takes effect Dec. 1. Because of their angst, they are working to get the tax repealed. (more)
WOOD TV 8
GR Chamber against tax hike
The city's Chamber of Commerce has a message for Lansing: the new service tax doesn't make Michigan more competitive.
Friday, the chamber joined a state-wide business coalition, Ax The Tax, and is working on a ballot initiative to repeal the services tax. The statewide effort claims the tax is inexpensive, convoluted and kills jobs. (more)
Midland Daily News
Chamber considers joining fight against service tax
Five chambers of commerce and 34 other business organizations are in a coalition trying to repeal Michigan's new sales tax on services.
The Midland Area Chamber of Commerce's board of directors on Tuesday "might very well discuss" whether to join that Ax the Tax Coalition, chamber President Sid Allen said Friday. (more)
Oct. 19
Booth
Coalition pushes for increase in gas tax
A gas tax is a job creator, while the service tax is a job killer. So say the interest groups out to hike the one and scrap the other. Despite the pressure, lawmakers are tax averse at the moment.
Crain’s Detroit Business
Coalition to fight for state tax repeal
Business interests opposed to Michigan’s new 6 percent tax on services have made it official, announcing on Wednesday the Ax the Tax Coalition to fight for repeal. (more)
The Niles Daily Star
Group pushes repeal of new service sales tax
With just 44 days before a new sales tax on services is imposed on Michigan consumers, an expansive and diverse group of 39 business organizations announced Wednesday they are joining forces to push for an outright repeal of the expensive, convoluted and job-killing tax. (more)
Oct. 18
Associated Press
Businesses form coalition to oppose tax increase
It's now official. Nearly 40 business groups are teaming up in an effort to repeal the new tax on services that takes effect in December. (more)
Michigan Public Radio
Business groups launch drive to repeal services tax
A coalition of business groups is launching a lobbying effort and a petition drive to repeal Michigan’s new tax on services. The coalition’s goal is to get the Legislature to repeal the tax before it takes effect December 1. If that does not succeed, the group will try to get a question on next year’s November ballot.
Detroit Free Press
Senators want tax repeal
Widespread opposition to the new sales tax on services has some Michigan lawmakers who voted for it hoping they can get a do-over, and raising the unlikely possibility the tax could be repealed before it goes into effect Dec. 1. (more)
Romeo Observer
Legislators asking people to speak against tax increases
As State Rep. Brian Palmer celebrated his birthday locked in a Lansing building late September, he was given an offer few are granted.
"My family came and brought me some birthday cake, and Granholm and her entourage saw us," Palmer said. "She asked me, `so, what would you like for your birthday?' So I said, 'I want a balanced budget without tax increases.'"
Legislators like Palmer are urging citizens to speak up against the tax increases brought on by the state government, saying only a grassroots effort will help end the taxation. (more)
Spinal Column
Senate bill would repeal tax on services
The recently passed 6 percent sales tax on certain services would be repealed under state Senate legislation introduced last week. (more)
C and G Newspapers
Businesses react to tax on services
Michigan legislators recently passed a resolution to deal with the state’s deficit, including a combination of cuts, reforms and new revenues.
Among the changes, about $440 million was cut from the budget, and the teacher healthcare system was reformed. The state's personal income tax will be increased from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent, and the state’s sales tax was expanded to a list of services deemed to be discretionary.
Maybe the most controversial part, at least for local businesses, is the 6 percent tax that will be added to services. (more)
Oct. 17
Detroit Free Press
Financial advice may get costlier
Michigan autoworkers, teachers and others are getting handed thousands of dollars in buyout packages. And many want -- and, frankly, need -- financial advice for how to make that money stretch into retirement.
So why not tax them for tips? OK, certain financial tips.
This is one whacked-out strategy for bailing out the state of Michigan's budget woes. (more)
Oct. 16
The State News
Business leaders seek to repeal tax expansion
Business leaders and some Michigan Republicans are looking to repeal the sales tax expansion that was passed by the state Oct. 1 during the night of Michigan's brief government shutdown.
Legislation introduced by state Sen. Cameron S. Brown, R-Fawn River Township, would repeal the 6 percent sales tax on some services before it could take effect on Dec. 1. (more)
Crain’s Detroit Business
Tourism industry asks for marketing help
Members of southeast Michigan’s tourism industry voiced concerns Monday over the effects of a new state service tax. (more)
Oct. 15
Detroit Free Press
Service tax to hurt company turnarounds
With a new tax on business services, Michigan has targeted what has proven to be a lucrative and essential part of the state's economy: restructuring consultants.
The painful contraction of the domestic auto industry that has plunged parts suppliers and related businesses into financial distress has turned Detroit into a hotbed for turnaround firms with expertise to help troubled companies become competitive. (more)
Crain's Detroit Business
Kill new tax, say service providers
State chamber, other groups rally troops
Michael Kulka doesn't usually spend a lot of time on political affairs.
But the principal and vice president of PM Environmental Inc. in Hazel Park is doing just that, in the wake of the Legislature's passage of a service tax hitting his and some 16,000 other Michigan businesses. (more)
Crain's Detroit Business
Small businesses unsure of impact of new tax law
Michigan small-business owners have more questions than answers about how an increase in state taxes could affect their businesses.
Thomas Brefeld, managing partner of Global Recruiters Network of Bloomfield Hills, said while the executive-recruitment firm has escaped some of the local economic turmoil because most clients are on the East Coast, the tax change is a new wrinkle he wasn't expecting. (more)
Oct. 14
Saginaw News
Politics wrote budget
Lansing lawmakers have no one to blame but themselves for a last-minute budget ''debacle'' that sparked a partial shutdown of state government Oct. 1, political pundits say.
Moreover, Lansing observers predict that legislators may decide to take a second look at the sales tax they expanded to cover some business services while ignoring others. (more)
Oct. 12
Port Huron Times Herald
Acciavatti, business groups, want service tax repealed
Local business owners are among those rallying behind Republican efforts to repeal Michigan's new service tax.
Rep. Dan Acciavatti, R-Chesterfield Township, introduced a bill to repeal the service tax Tuesday. (more)
Oct. 11
Romeo Observer
Local businesses not happy with 6% extended sales tax
Gwen Dugan, owner of Cutting Edge Salon and Flip Flop Tanning in Washington, said she fails to see how the extended sales tax will help Michigan.
"We don't do that many massages in the first place," she said. "I don't see how they'll balance the budget with something people already cut out of their spending." (more)
Oct. 10
Detroit News
Business leaders plot fight on tax
The earliest a band of business groups could organize a referendum asking voters to repeal a state sales tax expansion is November 2008, one of the tax fight's leaders said Tuesday.
But a group of business leaders hopes to put enough pressure on legislators before then and convince them to repeal or drastically amend the controversial 6 percent tax on services that hurts everyone from Big Three automakers to carpet cleaners, according to lobbyists and business owners who met privately in Lansing on Tuesday to hatch a two-pronged attack. (more)
Detroit Free Press
Now's the time to fix service tax
Who among us hasn't made a horrible mess of something in our lives -- a casserole, a science fair project, a marriage or all of the above?
In recognition of our mutual fallibility, let us now exhort Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Democratic and Republican state legislators to stop slinging darts of blame for the confusing and contradictory hodgepodge of new sales taxes on services they threw together last week.
Just fix it. (more)
Associated Press
Business groups, some lawmakers eye repeal of service tax
Business groups and some Republican lawmakers are laying the groundwork to try and repeal a tax on some services that was passed by the Legislature early last week.
About 60 business organizations and individuals met Tuesday to discuss the tax, according to the Small Business Association of Michigan. Many of them are expected to join a coalition aimed at eliminating the sales tax on about two dozen services, passed as part of a last-minute plan to balance the state's budget and avoid a prolonged government shutdown as Michigan's new fiscal year began Oct. 1. (more)
Crain’s Detroit Business
Bill to repeal state services tax introduced
Legislation to repeal Michigan’s new 6 percent tax on services is surfacing in the Capitol as business gears up efforts to kill the tax.
State Rep. Dan Acciavatti, R-Chesterfield Township, on Tuesday announced a bill to repeal the new tax, one of several such bills that could be introduced. (more)
Michigan Business Review
Business groups gird for tax repeal campaign
Michigan's pending services tax is so unpopular, even business owners who could be exempt are rushing to the barricades.
"It's a punitive tax on Michigan businesses and it makes us less competitive," said Bloomfield Hills financial planner Marilyn Capelli Dimitroff, owner of Capelli Financial Services Inc. (more)
Gladwin County Record
New service tax worries small businesses
A new tax on services will raise about $750 million for the state in 2008-09, but will it help or hurt businesses?
When the Legislature finally came to terms on a new budget during the early hours of Oct. 1, a major item meant to reduce the state's $1.75 billion deficit was the addition of a 6 percent tax on certain services. (more)
Oct. 9
Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun
Who's Taxed?
Services business across mid-Michigan have been calling their accountants, trying to decipher the dense, bureaucratic government jargon, and trying to figure out which, if any, services they provide will have to be taxed. (more)
Oct. 8
Crain's Detroit Business
Service-tax foes plan fight
Business interests continue to plot strategy to kill Michigan's new services tax, through legislation, the ballot box, or both. (more)
Oct. 5
Detroit Free Press
Details of service tax raise questions
Starting Dec. 1, lift tickets at Michigan ski resorts will be taxed 6%. Fees to play golf or to bowl won't.
Personal fitness training will be taxed, too. Fitness centers won't.
The TV repair guy will charge tax. Cable and satellite providers won't.
Businesses will have to pay taxes on consulting, landscaping and janitorial services. But not for lawyers, lobbyists and accountants.
Weird? (more)
Detroit Free Press
Tax deal blasted as quick fix
Gov. Jennifer Granholm defended this week's budget deal to a group of policy makers from across the state, but acknowledged that more work remains. (more)
Oct. 4
Jackson Citizen Patriot
State's decision to extend sales tax angers business owners
Al Cavasin is not certain why politicians in Lansing decided at the eleventh hour to tax his business to help solve the state budget crisis, but the fallout is clear.
"It's going to kill us. There will be jobs lost and revenue lost,'' he said. ``I'm sure we're going to lose business."(more)
Oct. 3
Livingston County Press and Argus
Businesses bristle over service tax
News of an expanded state sales tax on services such as ski tickets was just the latest financial blow for Mt. Brighton Ski Area, the facility's general manager said Tuesday. (more)
Detroit Free Press
Taxes may hinder attracting businesses
Selling Michigan as an attractive and low-cost place to do business just got a little harder.
The expansion of the state's sales tax to many service providers will raise the cost of business-to-business transactions and could hurt Michigan's enterprise reputation at a time when it can least afford it, economic development experts said Tuesday. (more)
Oct. 2
Detroit Free Press
Businesses fight service tax
Business groups inflamed by the new sales tax on many services are plotting a campaign to repeal it, just days after it passed. (more)
Oct. 1
Ann Arbor News
Ann Arbor area business owners say service tax will hurt
The expansion of the state's 6 percent sales tax to services like baby shoe bronzing, skiing and wedding planning has Doug Chapman hopping mad. (more)
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