Business & Economy

Student loan tax credits could keep graduates in Michigan, bill sponsor says

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By JOSH THALL
Capital News Service
LANSING — A bill to provide tuition tax credits for people paying off student loans is designed to keep young graduates in Michigan, but not everyone is convinced the plan will work. Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., an East Lansing Democrat, has introduced a bill to ease college graduates’ loan burdens for up to five years after graduation if they live and work in Michigan. The bill would give qualifying graduates a tax credit up to 50 percent of the amount paid on student loans — up to $2,150 for an individual, and $4,300 for a married couple per year. “The governor has talked a lot about talent retention,” Hertel said. “I sat down with some of our major universities, and one of the issues we have is the overwhelming number of students that are leaving the state, and not moving into our state.

Government

Those state tax changes – Are they fair to young, old?

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By XINJUAN DENG
Capital News Service
LANSING – Debates about taxes on pensions and the middle class continue to rage in the Capitol with different groups disputing their fairness. In the run-up to November’s House election, Democrats are attacking changes by the Republican-led Legislature that they say punish middle-class families, including a pension tax, reduced homestead property tax credit, reduced Earned Income Tax Credit and elimination of the $600 per child deduction. But Gov. Rick Snyder said, “It is important to leave retirement pensions as they are for our citizens age 67 and older. We are able to move forward with a revised plan that still adheres to the principles I laid out with my budget and tax initiatives, will create jobs and protect the safety net for Michigan families.”
And Ari Adler, press secretary to House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said the Republicans are trying to reset the system to achieve fairness. “That’s why there are no pension exemptions until age 67,” Adler said.