Whitmer: Spend $300 million of coronavirus aid to hike hourly wage to $15
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday proposed spending $300 million in federal COVID-19 funding to help Michigan businesses pay workers $15 an hour.
State grants would cover the difference between an employee's current hourly wage and $15 for three months, as long as the business…
Budget surge: State estimates it has an extra $3.5 billion coming in
LANSING — Michigan's main funds will take in an estimated $3.5 billion more in taxes than previously forecast thanks to increased consumer spending of federal stimulus checks and other coronavirus relief funds, state officials said Friday.The surplus, spread over this fiscal year and next,…
Michigan House Republicans unveil plan to spend federal COVID-19 aid
LANSING — Republicans who control the Michigan House unveiled a plan Tuesday to spend federal COVID-19 aid, including a proposed $1.6 billion for road, water and broadband infrastructure.The supplemental budget legislation, which a committee will start to discuss Wednesday, would allocate …
'The stakes are high': Detroit plans task force on how to spend pandemic relief windfall
Detroit leaders will soon start to decide how to spend a once-in-a-generation pot of money that could have a truly transformational impact on the pandemic-addled city.Michigan's biggest municipality is getting an estimated $879 million out of the $350 billion allocated for state and local fiscal…
Question of the Day [Updated]: How many states do not have state income taxes? - Blog
Did you know that most people have to file tax returns for BOTH federal AND state income taxes? Listed below are 8 states that do not (as of 3/16/2021) have state income taxes. Answer: 8 states including Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming Note: New Hampshire taxes investment income but will eliminate those taxes by 2024. Questions: How does your state's tax rate compare to other neighboring states? Do you think that states that have high state income tax rates (e.g., CA and NY) have to pay higher salaries to compensate employees for these high taxes? Why or why not? Can you name common taxes that people pay other than state and federal income taxes? Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Database: Search stimulus amounts for 1,500 Michigan municipalities
The landmark $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill President Joe Biden is expected to sign this week promises to be a windfall for local governments in Michigan. Michigan counties, cities and townships are in line to receive $4.22 billion in stimulus aid from the American Rescue Plan, according…
Teaching Fiscal Policy in the COVID Era Archives - EconEdLink
In light of the unprecedented financial turmoil currently taking place in the United States and around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teaching Fiscal Policy in the COVID Era explores how a black swan event can put extraordinary pressure on the nation’s economy, the financial well-being of citizens and how Governments respond to address such challenges.
Detroit appeals to socially conscious investors with Proposal N blight bonds sale
The city of Detroit is targeting a crowd of investors that's rising in popularity during the pandemic to buy the bonds it's issuing to pay for blight removal efforts. Under Proposal N, approved by voters in November, Detroit is taking on debt to fuel the $250 million project and expects to…
Whitmer budget seeks boost in child care, bridge, education spending
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today will propose a $67 billion state budget that she said would aid Michigan's pandemic recovery by solidifying new programs to attend community college for free, expanding child care assistance and boosting local bridge repairs.The Democratic governor's…
Biden Income Tax Calculator: How Might Your Taxes Change Under Biden’s Presidency? – Forbes Advisor
President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to raise taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations. His core tax proposals will increase taxes on people earning more than $400,000 per year and raise corporations’ tax rates from 21% to 28%. And although his tax plan will impact the bottom line of th
Commentary: Pandemic unemployment insurance bill will still come due. Who will pay?
The Republican-controlled Legislature wanted to spread skyrocketing unemployment insurance costs across all taxpayers as a way of helping businesses. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is having none of it.But that's not going to stop the bill from coming due.Whitmer's line-item veto Tuesday of the…
Wayne County distributes $6 million in debit cards to 12,000 impacted workers
A group of Wayne County residents affected by the pandemic has received an early Christmas present.Wayne County officials on Wednesday distributed $500 one-time payments via debit card to each of about 12,000 restaurant, fitness and entertainment venue employees. Those workers, all Wayne County…