Newspaper tells Legislative leadership to take flying leap sans parachute

As we have said before, it’s a positive affirmation when the state’s newspapers agree with the positions we have been taking and agrees with the job killing moves by Mr. Ward and the rest of the Legislative leadership. The latest is the Kalamazoo Gazette. Its editorial Sunday confirms what we have been saying about jobs and the Single Business Tax.

We've said all along that Michigan's Single Business Tax should be eliminated -- but not before the Legislature and governor agree on an alternative source to replace the SBT's $1.9 billion in annual revenue.
Yet the Legislature dove ahead and passed a veto-proof elimination of the SBT without any replacement for the revenue it generated.
Without the SBT or any other business tax to replace it, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority is offering tax credits to entice companies to move to Michigan -- but with a big maybe. After all, it's tough to guarantee the size of a tax credit when there's no tax against which to credit.
So the state's economic developers are having to be vague about tax incentives.
Trouble is, other states are not vague about what they can put on the table. So what's a smart business owner likely to do? Locate in the state that can offer a concrete tax-incentive package? Or opt for the state that can offer only a vague promise?
The longer Michigan goes without a replacement business tax, the harder it will be to get prospective companies to move here. And how many new jobs are we losing right now because of the uncertainty?
What irony. The lack of a replacement for the SBT makes the state unable to guarantee tax credits to prospective employers, which becomes a huge disincentive for out-of-state companies to create jobs here.
We suggest lawmakers try skydiving sans parachutes themselves and let us know how it works out.