SPECIAL K-12 EDUCATION EDITION

Governor in Macomb County this Afternoon to Discuss Impact of K-12 Cuts

The governor will be in Macomb County this afternoon to participate in a roundtable discussion with local school board officials, superintendents, educators and parents about the impact that cuts in K-12 education will have on their school districts.

Meanwhile in Lansing, the House Appropriations Committee is taking a look at revenue sources that could help restore cuts in school aid.

Here are three relatively-painless sources of revenue that together could produce $245 million for schools:

1.  Freeze the personal exemption on the state income tax at $3,500.  The exemption is scheduled to increase to $3,600 for the 2009 tax year.  That $100 increase would save an individual taxpayer just $4.35 on his or her 2009 taxes.  Projected revenue: $55 million.

2.  Cut 13 percent from all of the special loopholes in our state tax code.  These are the tax loopholes that high-paid lobbyists acquire for industries like Big Oil which gets a DOUBLE deduction in the tax code.  Projected revenue: $150 million.

3.  Tax all loose tobacco and flavored cigarillo products sold in Michigan at the same rate as cigarettes.  Not only would this generate millions of dollars for schools, it also would create a financial deterrent to children picking up the tobacco habit.  Projected revenue: $40 million.

Key messages:

Education is the key to the future of our children and our state.  We need to invest in a quality education for our children.

Reducing tax loopholes simply means industries like Big Oil will begin paying their fair share of taxes instead of shifting their tax liability to others.

All tobacco products should be taxed uniformly, and as a deterrent to tobacco use.  This would help invest in our schools and keep class sizes small and further protect our children from using tobacco products that jeopardize their health.  
 
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