Michigan Supreme Court dismisses case calling for a permanent income tax cut

LANSING — Calls for a one-year Michigan income tax cut to be made permanent hit a dead end Friday at the Michigan Supreme Court.

A spike in state revenues in 2022 triggered a provision inserted into a 2015 law that reduced Michigan's personal income tax rate to 4.05% from 4.25%.

The Whitmer administration and Attorney General Dana Nessel interpreted the wording as resulting in a one-year tax cut, for the 2023 tax year only. Michigan Republicans and groups such as the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Associated Builders and Contractors interpreted the law as requiring a permanent tax cut.

They sued, but lost at both the Michigan Court of Claims and the Michigan Court of Appeals .

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And on Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

“Taxpayers just lost $700 million a year without a single vote in the Legislature,” said Patrick Wright, vice president for legal affairs at the Mackinac Center.

“This case is a reminder that the Legislature must be extremely precise in order to avoid a misguided interpretation of the law by a future administration opposed to its original goals.”

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Supreme Court dismisses case calling for a permanent income tax cut