Rep. Beth Griffin today voted to lower Michigan’s income tax rate, with additional relief for seniors and families with children.

“This is for families struggling to afford groceries, workers losing more of their paychecks at the gas pump, and seniors trying to get by on fixed incomes in the face of the worst inflation in 40 years,” said Griffin, of Mattawan. “I have always supported lower taxes – but this is a particularly important time to provide some relief in Michigan. State government finances are in good shape, but the budgets of many families are not, and it makes sense for people to keep more of their own hard-earned money. I know the people of our state will make better use of it than state government ever would.”

Senate Bill 768 provides an estimated $2.5 billion in annual, ongoing tax relief starting with a rollback in the individual income tax rate to 3.9 percent, down from the current 4.25 percent.

Seniors would be in line for additional relief. The income exempted from taxes for those 62 and older would rise to $20,000 for individual filers and $40,000 for joint filers. An additional exemption would be applied specifically to retirement income – also at $20,000 for single filers and $40,000 for joint filers.

The plan also provides more relief for families through a $500-per-child income tax credit.

Also Tuesday, Griffin voted in favor of House Bill 5054 – providing $1.5 billion in one-time funding from the state’s general fund surplus to reduce debt and improve the finances of public employee retirement systems. Most of the funding would go to pension plans for local governments and road commissions, with an additional $350 million to improve financing in the Michigan State Police retirement system.

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