Don’t Raise My Taxes Stop May 2nd In Kalamazoo

AFP-Michigan Brings “Don’t Raise MI Taxes” Tour to Kalamazoo, May 2
Group travels state to rally grassroots opposition to tax hike proposals being debated.

LANSING, Mich.—Americans for Prosperity-Michigan’s 13-stop “Don’t Raise MI Taxes” tour will stop in Kalamazoo at a meeting of the Van Kal Tea Party Patriots held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2^nd, at the Home Builders Association of Greater Kalamazoo, 5700 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo. The tour comes in advance of a move by House lawmakers to take up a series of road funding bills that are expected to include substantial tax increases.

“As Michigan families filed their tax returns on April 15^th, many felt the pinch of the billion dollar income tax hike signed by the Governor in 2011,” said Scott Hagerstrom, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Michigan. “Raising taxes on Michigan families for a second time shouldn’t even be an option on the table. It is time for state government to start living within its means, just as Michigan families have had to.”

According to Hagerstrom, AFP-Michigan is working to educate citizens on the various proposals being debated and to rally grassroots opposition to tax hikes. Citizens who can’t attend a town hall event but still want to make their voices heard can sign the group’s “Don’t Raise MI Taxes” petition available online at NoMITaxHike.com.

Governor Rick Snyder signed sweeping changes to the tax code into law in 2011, which reduced business taxes but made a temporary increase in the income tax rate permanent, and scaled back tax deductions without a corresponding reduction in tax rates. Groups on the Left have been keen to criticize Governor Snyder’s record, but Hagerstrom pointed out their hypocrisy since many of these same organizations advocated for then-Governor Jennifer Granholm’s tax hike.

“We applaud Governor Snyder for reducing taxes on Michigan businesses, which are our state’s economic engine,” said Hagerstrom. “Unfortunately, these pro-growth reforms were paired with a corresponding tax hike that eats into household budgets and will drive more families out of our state.”

At the event, a panel of experts from AFP-Michigan and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, will outline various ways in which the state can better prioritize and reduce spending in order to free up more dollars for roads. Among its recommendations, AFP-Michigan supports ending film subsidies and curtailing handouts that flow through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.