Michigan Inflation Relief: Senate Approves Tax Package Excluding $180 Checks

The Senate recently approved a tax package for the Michigan inflation relief. However, the initial proposal of $180 in relief checks was not included in the approval.

On February 6, the Democrats first introduced a Michigan inflation relief plan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that the plan would include relief checks worth $180 to be received by all tax filers. However, when the lawmakers finalized the relief plan for the governor’s approval, the $180 in relief checks did not survive the Senate.

According to Johncox, the Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate of Michigan expected to receive support for this plan from the Republicans. This is because the relief plan required a supermajority to be approved. However, to obtain the Republicans’ support, the plan was revised by excluding the $180 in relief checks.

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Why the Checks Were Excluded from the Inflation Relief Plan

According to Nissen, the Democrats insisted that even though the $180 in relief checks seemed inadequate to some, the checks can still help provide immediate financial assistance apart from the other relief measures included in the plan.

However, the Republicans still showed opposition to that component of the plan. They insisted that reducing the tax rates would instead provide more permanent relief to inflation than the checks would. This is because issuing the relief checks would have hindered the decrease of Michigan’s income tax rate to 4.05% from 4.25%. Nonetheless, the amended inflation relief plan still intends to provide relief to several residents of Michigan.

READ ALSO: Inflation Decreases, But Relief Checks Continue: Tax Refunds And Relief Checks In 2023