Governor’s plan helping protect Michigan pocketbooks

LANSING – In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced she has signed legislation that will create an Earned Income Tax Credit for working families in Michigan. The Governor signed the legislation today in Flint.

“Thanks to the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit, Michigan’s lowest wage earners will have up to $880 more in their pocket.  And it’s about time,” Granholm said.  “That’s $880 to help pay for education, health care, insurance, home heating costs or whatever else they need.”

More than 660,000 Michigan families, earning below $35,000 each year, already qualify for a federal tax credit worth up to $4,700 depending on the size of their family.  Like the federal credit, Senate Bill 453 will help Michigan’s working families keep more of what they earn.

Families qualifying for the federal EITC will be eligible for a Michigan EITC equaling 10 percent of the federal credit on their 2008 taxes.  The credit will increase to an amount equaling 20 percent of their federal credit in the following year.  This will result in millions of additional dollars in disposable income for working families each year.

Granholm’s administration has taken a number of additional steps over the last month to protect Michigan families and their pocketbooks.  The governor announced a new pilot program to make home and auto insurance available at lower rates to residents in Metro Detroit and Genesee County.  Last week, Granholm sent a letter to the White House urging President Bush to reconsider his recent decision to exclude Michigan from receiving additional funding for home heating assistance.

“Reducing the cost of insurance, fighting for our fair share of federal assistance for home heating, creating a tax credit to help working families – it’s all part of my plan to help families work and thrive here in Michigan, especially during time of economic challenge,” Granholm said.

The Governor’s weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state through an affiliation with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.  The address will also be available on the Governor’s website on Mondays as a podcast for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.

Broadcasters Note: Governor Granholm’s radio address can be accessed through Sunday evening exclusively through the Members Only page of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters website.

Publishers Note: The text of today’s address is attached.