Governor Rick Snyder is throwing his support behind a series of legislation aimed at bringing more “big-project” jobs to Michigan.
In a Detroit News opinion piece, Gov. Snyder calls Senate bills 242-244 “critical” to bringing in large-scale employers to the state. The governor says Michigan economic developers are at a disadvantage because other states offer tax incentives that Michigan doesn’t have available.
The bipartisan bills gives tax breaks to companies who bring in more than 250 jobs to the state.
If the legislation were to become law, 15 companies a year would be eligible to collect and keep between 50-100 percent of their workers withheld income if they meet certain requirements.
Any company who receives incentives must pay their workers above the average pay scale for the region.
In the op-ed, Snyder acknowledges previous shortfalls of offering such breaks. He says previous incentives didn’t offer the same accountability that these bills have built in to protect tax payer money.
When the “Good Jobs for Michigan” bill was introduced, the president of the Michigan AFL-CIO spoke out against it.
“The idea that a worker would pay their income taxes directly to their employer to subsidize their own salary is just nuts,” said AFL -CIO’s Ron Bieber.
The bill passed a vote in the Senate and is now held up in a House tax committee.
