State Rep. Mike Harris this week joined the Michigan House in approving a plan to deliver much-needed tax relief to Michigan families and small businesses.

House Bill 4170 will lower the state income tax rate to 4.05% as of Jan. 1, 2025, reversing a 2024 tax hike and allowing Michigan taxpayers to keep more than $700 million of their hard-earned income every year.

“People in Oakland County and across Michigan could use some relief from costs that have skyrocketed over the last few years,” said Harris, R-Waterford. “They work hard to provide for their families, and they expect their state government to use their dollars to provide value and pay for police, roads, schools, and other services. But the state added to the cost of living with the 2024 income tax hike and wasteful spending. The government doesn’t earn tax dollars; the people do. I voted to reverse the tax hike and keep hundreds of millions of dollars in Michiganders’ pockets.”

The plan also clarifies a 2015 law designed to provide automatic income tax cuts when state revenues exceed inflation, preventing future administrations from blocking permanent tax relief, as the Whitmer administration did in 2024.

In 2023, an automatic tax reduction lowered the rate from 4.25% to 4.05%, following the intent of the 2015 law. This should have been permanent, as legislators and the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency observed at the time. However, state bureaucrats declared the 2023 rollback was temporary, ensuring the tax rate would jump back to 4.25% on Jan. 1, 2024, and raising taxes on every Michigan taxpayer.

In addition to reversing this tax hike, the plan will guarantee that future tax reductions remain intact unless the Legislature explicitly changes them.

Harris pointed out that Michigan has more than enough revenue to afford the lower tax rate. Over the past two years, budget experts have repeatedly announced higher-than-expected revenue coming into the state.

In January, state budget experts announced that Michigan has $850 million more in revenue than previously projected. This surplus alone would more than cover the tax cut the House approved.

HB 4170 now advances to the Senate for further consideration.