By Rick Pluta
When the Legislature returns to the state Capitol next week, there will be another item added to its to-do list. That is coming up with millions of dollars to fill a budget gap created by the state Supreme Court decision on Michigan's new pension tax.
The court upheld the tax on pensions, but said denying a tax break to some higher-earners effectively created a graduated income tax.
A graduated income tax is not allowed under the state constitution. That part of the decision also blew a 60 million dollar hole in the state budget. 60 million dollars is a small part of a general fund budget that exceeds eight billion dollars. But it is an amount the governor and the Legislature will need to make up to meet their obligation under the state constitution to have a balanced budget. One possibility would be to use a projected surplus from last year's budget to fill the gap. That number becomes official in January. But it appears the surplus will be somewhere near 400 million dollars. Lawmakers are already fighting over what to do with that money. Democrats say it should be used to restore some budget cuts to schools.
Republicans say it should go into the state's "rainy day" savings fund, or to pay down debt.
Copyright 2010, MPRN
When the Legislature returns to the state Capitol next week, there will be another item added to its to-do list. That is coming up with millions of dollars to fill a budget gap created by the state Supreme Court decision on Michigan's new pension tax.
The court upheld the tax on pensions, but said denying a tax break to some higher-earners effectively created a graduated income tax.
A graduated income tax is not allowed under the state constitution. That part of the decision also blew a 60 million dollar hole in the state budget. 60 million dollars is a small part of a general fund budget that exceeds eight billion dollars. But it is an amount the governor and the Legislature will need to make up to meet their obligation under the state constitution to have a balanced budget. One possibility would be to use a projected surplus from last year's budget to fill the gap. That number becomes official in January. But it appears the surplus will be somewhere near 400 million dollars. Lawmakers are already fighting over what to do with that money. Democrats say it should be used to restore some budget cuts to schools.
Republicans say it should go into the state's "rainy day" savings fund, or to pay down debt.
Copyright 2010, MPRN