[Jwo85]

It's time to put a stop to the gravy train for retired old people. Pensions should be taxed.

Should Michigan tax pensions?

About 95% of Michiganders 65 and older don't pay any state income tax, including many of the relatively few who earn $100,000 a year or more from pensions, Social Security and IRA and 401(k) withdrawals.

[huchiemama]

Michigan is screwed.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by Jwo85

It's time to put a stop to the gravy train for retired old people. Pensions should be taxed.

Should Michigan tax pensions?

seriously?

there are taxes to be collected if the state collects from the thugs and drugs.

Just the money in Detroit ought to generate tens of MILLIONS...

tax the seniors and watch another exodus begin...

[Perferator]

How did the jump from 4% to 6% keep Michigan from it's present troubles? Therefore, how can a jump from 6% to whatever get us out?

I dont see any of that happening.

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by Perferator

How did the jump from 4% to 6% keep Michigan from it's present troubles? Therefore, how can a jump from 6% to whatever get us out?

I dont see any of that happening.

Yeah, no kidding.

Plus, when the sales tax was increased, property taxes were capped (to only increase a certain percentage), but that was only for folks with existing homes. I.e., ifya bought a home after 1996, your property tax increase wasn't capped.

An economic windfall for the gooberment created by complex wording on the ballot.

New homeowners got the shaft, along with everyone else paying the extra sales tax.

Did Gov. Jenny's propsal to tax haircuts go through?

Unbelievable.

[canudigit]

Well, living near the border certainly has its perks in matters such as these. We have been buying our gas in Ohio ever since we moved to Michigan, and we buy our pop there as well to avoid the deposit fee. We will be watching what happens, and then make our purchasing decisions based on which state has the lowest sales tax. One thing I'm eternally thankful for is that we don't spend money on cigarettes or alcohol, since those seem to be the pet tax generators in almost every state. Need money for more bloated government? Easy. Just raise the tax on cigarettes another $.50/pack. That seems to be the pattern. How do people afford to smoke?

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Well, living near the border certainly has its perks in matters such as these. We have been buying our gas in Ohio ever since we moved to Michigan, and we buy our pop there as well to avoid the deposit fee. We will be watching what happens, and then make our purchasing decisions based on which state has the lowest sales tax. One thing I'm eternally thankful for is that we don't spend money on cigarettes or alcohol, since those seem to be the pet tax generators in almost every state. Need money for more bloated government? Easy. Just raise the tax on cigarettes another $.50/pack. That seems to be the pattern. How do people afford to smoke?

Isn't the deposit fee refundable? Consider all the revenue the state of Michigan is losing when folks cross the border for a large percentage of purchases.

Remember that crossing the border to buy tobacco and I believe alcohol (in certain quantities) is illegal.

I suppose those who do chose to drink or smoke also have a choice to pay the "sin" tax via participation or abstaining?

And Detroit loses out when tax revenues drop and that means the great city has less to operate with, which in turns leads to greater blight.

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Isn't the deposit fee refundable? Consider all the revenue the state of Michigan is losing when folks cross the border for a large percentage of purchases.

Remember that crossing the border to buy tobacco and I believe alcohol (in certain quantities) is illegal.

I suppose those who do chose to drink or smoke also have a choice to pay the "sin" tax via participation or abstaining?

And Detroit loses out when tax revenues drop and that means the great city has less to operate with, which in turns leads to greater blight.

Can and bottle deposit is a PITA. Gotta wash 'em out and store 'em until you go to the store again. I've seen restrooms in Tijuana that were more sanitary than some of the bottle return areas in MI.

Disgusting.

Gotta keep an eye on the cashiers too. There's a button on their 'lil register for deposits. If they hit the deposit button before the beer/wine button, then you're taxed on the bottle deposit too.

Not sure if there's a limit to booze and smokes you buy in Ohio, Indy, or Wisconsin, but it's definetly illegal to re-sell it in MI. Hence, the 'lil state seals on cig packs. There's a limit on duty free stuff from Canada......

Throwing money at problems doesn't work.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by YAZ

Can and bottle deposit is a PITA. Gotta wash 'em out and store 'em until you go to the store again. I've seen restrooms in Tijuana that were more sanitary than some of the bottle return areas in MI.

Disgusting.

Gotta keep an eye on the cashiers too. There's a button on their 'lil register for deposits. If they hit the deposit button before the beer/wine button, then you're taxed on the bottle deposit too.

Not sure if there's a limit to booze and smokes you buy in Ohio, Indy, or Wisconsin, but it's definetly illegal to re-sell it in MI. Hence, the 'lil state seals on cig packs. There's a limit on duty free stuff from Canada......

Throwing money at problems doesn't work.

A lot of retailers were forced to clean up their bottle return areas a few years ago by the health departments. Our bottle area in our Meijer is just fine, other than that gross sweet smell. They even stock it with hand sanitizer dispensers. I do however go into stores that actually have their bottle returns right in the front lobby area. Nice smell to walk into as you enter the store.

Keep in mind though that low taxes are not necessarily the answer to reviving Michigan's economy (or having a balanced budget). Low tax states like Nevada are facing a 50%+ budget shortfall (Michigan is about 11% short this year), meaning Nevada's tax revenue plummetted in half in less than one year. If Michigan cuts taxes and the global recession continues, and very few businesses take advantage of a lower tax system, then what?

Interesting article:

In New Year, No Relief for Strapped States - NYTimes.com

Michigan's constitution requires that we balance the budget every year, which is a good thing. Many states do not have that in place and are incurring huge debts.

Check out this map of state budget shortfalls for the second half of 2009:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/...891975df_o.jpg

A lot of low tax states are in dark blue.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

Isn't the deposit fee refundable? Consider all the revenue the state of Michigan is losing when folks cross the border for a large percentage of purchases.

Remember that crossing the border to buy tobacco and I believe alcohol (in certain quantities) is illegal.

I suppose those who do chose to drink or smoke also have a choice to pay the "sin" tax via participation or abstaining?

And Detroit loses out when tax revenues drop and that means the great city has less to operate with, which in turns leads to greater blight.

Well, as I said, we don't buy cigarettes or alcohol, either in Michigan or Ohio, so we aren't breaking any laws here, and we don't pay any sin taxes at all in either state. I buy groceries in Michigan because our son works at Kroger, so as a member of his immediate family, I get the employee discount that is only good in Michigan stores. And we don't purchase big ticket items often enough to make a dent in either state's tax revenue. Just wanted to make sure I didn't come across as a big spender who takes all my business to Ohio, because that is anything but true. I'm just saying that if Michigan were to raise their sales tax to where it would cost us several hundred dollars more to buy a car, for example, here than in Ohio, we would do what anyone else would do, if they're being honest. No more often than we buy a car, it wouldn't have any great effect on either state. On a day to day basis, I would say that 90% of our purchases are made in Michigan. We even buy our gas here too, now that our son has his job at Kroger and we get a $.30/gallon discount. Wouldn't you? When we were going to Ohio to get gas before, my theory was this: the gasoline tax is higher in Michigan. The roads, which is where this extra gas tax revenue supposedly goes, are way worse in Michigan than in Ohio. When Michigan can get its act together and give us halfway decent roads to drive on in exchange for said tax, I will be glad to provide them with my tiny portion. I believe in rewarding those who will do the most with what they are given. Of course, as I mentioned, we are now buying all of our gas here in Michigan, so that is a mute point anymore. Still, it would be VERY nice if Michigan would feel the need to do some road repairs once in a blue moon...

On the subject of breaking laws, in the Michigan border towns near where we live, people are constantly bringing bags of cans that they purchased in Ohio with no deposit into Michigan and turning them in at places like Kroger and Meijer for a deposit refund. This is completely illegal and helps to drain Michigan's already dwindling finances, so I don't know why more isn't done to prevent this from happening. One can at a time adds up to thousands, maybe even millions, of dollars a year that the state of Michigan pays out to out-of-staters who turn in non-Michigan cans. We have never returned cans that we bought in Ohio to a facility in Michigan. Not only are we not willing to break the law, but we can save our cans until we have a sufficient number and then take them to a recycling facility such as Omnisource in Ohio and get money for them, which is perfectly legal.