Senator: Mackinac Center Research Shows Eliminating MBT Will Spur Job Creation; Balancing Public-Sector Benefits Enough to Replace Difference

An Op-Ed by state Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton Township, in today’s Detroit News cites research by Mike LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, showing the positive economic benefits of eliminating the Michigan Business Tax.

Replacing the MBT and its onerous 22 percent surcharge with nothing would yield 57,000 net new jobs in the first year after repeal and nearly 121,000 jobs by 2016, according to LaFaive’s calculations.

Sen. Colbeck suggests that the tax and surcharge can be eliminated and the corresponding $4 billion budget gap be met by bringing balance to public-sector benefits, which currently outpace public-sector benefits by $5.7 billion annually.

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