Last Thursday, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a package of bipartisan bills aimed at revitalizing communities across Michigan by allowing transformational projects to capture state sales and income taxes to redevelop challenging brownfield sites into new, vibrant developments that bring jobs and economic growth.
Joined by a group of bipartisan lawmakers, Saginaw Future President and Michigan Thrive Coalition member JoAnn Crary, Saginaw City Manager Tim Morales, and other city officials and business leaders, the governor spoke about how the Michigan Thrive legislation will help revitalize communities across the state.
"As part of Michigan's reinvention, it's important that we continue to revitalize our downtowns, waterfronts and main streets to attract and keep talent and business continually growing in our great state," Snyder said. "This legislation is key to closing existing funding gaps surrounding brownfield sites and creating vibrant communities where Michiganders can live, work and play."
The Michigan Thrive Coalition, comprised of leading economic development organizations, cities, and chambers of commerce supported the legislation led by Sen. Horn to revitalize and redevelop brownfield sites into thriving economic development engines in Michigan communities.
The five-bill package includes:
- SB 111, sponsored by Sen. Ken Horn, outlines the key elements of the proposal. The three kinds of income tax capture allowed under the package include construction period tax capture revenues, withholding tax capture revenues, and income tax capture revenues, in addition to property tax increments. The purchase of certain tangible personal property used in eligible brownfield redevelopment activities would be exempt from sales and use taxes.
- SB 112, sponsored by Sen. Jack Brandenburg, amends the Income Tax Act to provide that, from total income tax revenue collected, an amount equal to the construction period tax capture revenues, withholding tax capture revenues, and income tax capture revenues attributable to Transformation Brownfield Plans (TBPs) shall be deposited each state fiscal year into the State Brownfield Redevelopment Fund.
- SB 113, sponsored by Sen. Tom Casperson, amends the General Sales Tax Act to exempt from sales taxes the sale of tangible personal property for use in eligible brownfield redevelopment activities on eligible property included in a TBP, to the extent that the tangible personal property will be affixed and made a structural part of the real property or infrastructure improvements included within the TBP.
- SB 114, sponsored by Sen. Peter MacGregor, amends the Use Tax Act to exempt from use taxes tangible personal property acquired by a person engaged in the business of altering, repairing, or improving real estate for others, or to the manufacturing of a specific product if the property or product is to be affixed or made a structural part of improvements to real property included within a TBP, to the extent that those improvements are eligible activities on eligible property within a TBP.
- SB 115, sponsored by Sen. Steve Bieda, amends the Michigan Renaissance Zone Act to provide that, where a renaissance zone overlapped with a TBP, the property owner and local government unit may request that exemptions from the Income Tax Act and City Income Tax Act not apply within the overlapping portion of the renaissance zone. The Michigan Strategic Fund and city levying the income tax would decide whether to approve the request.
For more information on this and other legislation, visit www.legislature.mi.gov.
For more information about the MI Thrive Initiative, visit http://mithrivecoalition.com.
Published: Mon, Jun 12, 2017
