EDITOR:

When I first heard about the AxMITax proposal it sounded great to me, eliminate all property tax and no one would lose their property due to their failure to pay their taxes. This would be wonderful for the citizens of Michigan and I could easily support this.

Then I began to hear and read of all the objections to this proposal, all the ways that our county would suffer if it were to pass. Supposedly, it would hurt the schools, the library, the ambulance services, the senior citizen programs, and numerous other entities. So, I began to research the issue and here is some of what I discovered.

In 2022, Michigan tax revenue was $40.1 billion, with the bulk of that coming from sales and income tax and only $2.5 billion or 6% from property tax. Our governor just last year paid foreign companies over $3 billion tax dollars to come and set up shop in Michigan, and then she forgave them all property taxes.

No doubt many people are concerned about paying for public schools, but please understand that per pupil funding comes from tax sources other than property tax. Millages cannot be used to educate children. School millages are for building remodels, playground equipment, football fields, etc. Again, the state receives $2.5 billion from property taxes and public school funds are $24 billion. That means $21.5 billion comes from all the taxes we pay.

Similar situations exist in many other areas, among them the county parks, the library, the senior citizen programs, the various ambulance services, and I could go on. At the same time, please be aware that property taxes are paid by less than one half of the property owners in Michigan. One third of the residents are renters who pay no property taxes and another third are exempt from the property tax burden for a variety of reasons. The entire property tax system is inherently unfair and needs to be replaced and the AxMITax ballot proposal makes great sense to me.

The AxMITax proposal increases the local government’s share of sales tax revenue and also makes constitutional the sharing of income tax, alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco taxes to the county.

Within the AxMITax ballot proposal, infrastructure and other essential services, which should never be threatened, will be covered by general revenue sharing from the state.

Most importantly, in today’s environment of inflation and ever increasing prices, it has and is becoming increasingly difficult for some people to meet their expenses, among them their property tax. No one, I repeat NO ONE should lose their home because of their failure to pay their property tax. Sign a petition and vote yes on the AxMITax proposal!