The Michigan Municipal League needs your help to oppose a bill related to the personal property tax that could get a vote in the state Senate as early as Tuesday, December 14th. While we prefer you call your state Senators, we’ve also created this sample letter through our Action Center that you can email to them.

House Bill 5351 passed in the House Wednesday and appears to be on a fast-track for a vote in the Senate. The bill would double the small taxpayer personal property tax exemption for small businesses from $80,000 to $160,000. No fiscal analysis of this bill has been done, but best estimates are that this change could cost local governments $40 million to $50 million in anticipated personal property tax revenue.

It is not known how many businesses will be impacted by this, and most importantly the bill DOES NOT provide a revenue replacement to local government.

There is no reason to rush this bill through the legislature because it wouldn’t take effect until Dec. 31, 2022 and wouldn’t lower the personal property tax that commercial and industrial businesses pay until July, 2023.

The League is encouraging state Senators to hold off on voting on this important issue until after the first of the year so that proper time can be spent determining the full economic impact of this legislation. We’re also encouraging legislators to identify an appropriate revenue replacement for this significant cut to local governments to avoid cuts to vital local services.

Here are some talking points to use when discussing this issue with your Senators:

• The state is sitting on billions of dollars that could help small business immediately so why cut small business taxes that does not provide any financial relief until July of 2023?
• If this passes, how do you plan to replace the revenue for this significant cut to local governments?
• What’s the rush? There is no immediate need to do this now and it should be delayed until we know the true impact to local government and small business.
• Let’s work together to find a solution that immediately helps small business and doesn’t cut local government funding.
• This legislation is not needed to pass the broader economic development incentive package the legislature is currently considering.

Please contact your Senators today! Call them or send them this letter. Thank you!