95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Pension tax repeal bill makes it to Senate floor

Michigan Capitol Building
wikimedia commons
Michigan Capitol Building

A bill sent to the Michigan Senate Wednesday would phase out taxes on public pension benefits and provide certain deductions for private retirees

The plan gives pensioners the choice to opt into a tax structure that existed before the system changed in 2011.

Democratic Senator Kevin Hertel sponsors the bill. He says he’s open to providing more tax breaks for private retired workers down the line.

“The most immediate thing that we have to do here is repeal the tax that was put in place in 2011. I think we have seen this is negatively impacting people across our communities. And so that is the most critical thing we have to do today.”

Hertel says some more changes could come that would make the plan immediate rather than phasing in the tax cuts.

Critics argue the plan unfairly benefits public retirees more than private ones.

Related Content