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Michigan Graduated Income Tax Initiative (2020)
| Michigan Graduated Income Tax Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Michigan Graduated Income Tax Initiative was not on the ballot in Michigan as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The ballot initiative would have required the Michigan State Legislature to pass a law for a graduated income tax. As of 2020, the state's income tax was a flat rate of 4.25 percent. The ballot initiative would have provided details, but not specific rates, for the graduated income tax. The ballot initiative would have required the tax rate on income of $175,000 or less ($350,000 or less for joint filers) to be reduced below the existing 4.25 percent. The graduated income tax would have needed to increase revenue for fiscal year 2022-2023 by at least $1.5 billion above the revenue for fiscal year 2019-2020.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot initiative is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Michigan
In Michigan, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures older than 180 days are invalid, which means all signatures must be collected within a 180-day window. Amendment petitions must be filed 120 days prior to the election.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 425,059 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 6, 2020.
Signature petitions are filed with the secretary of state and verified by the board of state canvassers using a random sample method of verification.
Stages of this initiative
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| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
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Michiganders for the Commonwealth (Fair Tax Michigan) filed a petition for the measure with the State Board of Canvassers on February 28, 2020.[1]
On March 25, 2020, Eli Isaguirre, campaign manager of Fair Tax Michigan, announced that efforts to place the initiative on the ballot for November 3, 2020, were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Isaguirre said that the campaign would instead aim to place the initiative on the ballot for 2022. Isaguirre wrote, “This decision was made due to the need to follow the advice of public health officials and the order of Governor Gretchen Whitmer to practice social distancing. The campaign also recognizes the immediate need of many of our members to assist frontline communities in dealing with the effects of the crisis.”[2]
To learn more about how the coronavirus pandemic impacted ballot measure campaigns, see the following: Changes to ballot measure campaigns, procedures, and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2022
See also
Footnotes
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State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
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