Dear Friends,

Please be patient because this is long, but important, and I need your help.

I cannot communicate strongly enough the need to reach out wisely, persuasively and effectively to every elected official or interested party to protect the automatic income tax rollback.

Like so many things in politics, it’s a complicated issue with many moving parts. For those who are not aware of what is happening, please let me explain in broad terms:

1. By law, when the amount of money in the state’s General Fund reaches a certain level, an automatic reduction in income tax rates is triggered.

2. Michigan reached that level in 2022, which means the income tax rate will drop from 4.25% to approximately 4.05% - a significant cut for every Michigan taxpayer.

3. No additional legislation is needed - this will already happen...

4. ...UNLESS the administration is successful in enticing the legislature to move certain money out of the General Fund for fiscal year 2022, which can still happen, thereby eliminating the “trigger.”

This is exactly what Democratic leadership appears ready to do.

In the last two weeks, I supported two tax cuts that weren’t my favorite, but were at least a step in the right direction - a pension tax cut and expanding the EITC, which was something my hero, Ronald Reagan, proposed in the 1986 Tax Reform Act.

Both of those bills passed. Surprisingly, I’ve actually been criticized harshly for voting yes on these bills - even though tax cuts have been the foundation of Republican ideas for generations.

But everything is back on the table now. The Democratic majority seems to be backtracking and working towards a new bill that takes both of those cuts and combines them with a financial shift that would eliminate the automatic income tax rollback. If they actually try this, I will have no choice but to vote no on the new bill, which by default means voting no on the EITC and the pension tax cut. But, we must stand firm to protect the automatic income tax rollback!

As I said on the Senate Floor last week, it is shameful that the government is sitting on a $9 billion+ surplus while our families at home are struggling over the price of basic necessities.

Please call anyone you can to share what is happening, and encourage them to reach out effectively - not just by yelling or hurling insults which doesn’t actually help - but by offering sincere, reasoned concern and asking for solid action to save our tax cuts! Again, these are likely to be the only three tax cuts we get this legislative session, and we need to protect them, especially the income tax rollback that benefits everyone!

John Damoose
State Senator
Michigan’s 37th District