Democrat Gretchen Whitmer is calling for the elimination of Michigan's "retirement tax" in a new TV ad airing in the governor's race.
The 30-second ad launched Wednesday is funded by a group affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association. In the ad, Whitmer criticizes her Republican opponent, Bill Schuette, for calling a 2011 overhaul that included a business tax cut and the taxation of retirement income "great news for Michigan taxpayers."
When Gov. Rick Snyder took office, he and the Republican-controlled Legislature slashed business taxes and began partially or fully taxing pensions and other retirement income. Schuette, who is pushing a broader income tax cut, says he also favors eliminating the "pension tax."
Schuette's campaign says his statement about the tax overhaul was clearly a reference to reducing business taxes.