Taxing Away Michigan's Future

Do new taxes aid a state’s economy, as proponents suggest? Looking at Michigan's history, the answer is obvious.

From 1940 to the mid-1960s, Michigan’s economy consistently produced between 4.5 percent and 5.0 percent of the nation’s income. In 1965, Michigan introduced the Single Business tax. Two years later it adopted a State income tax. Since that time, Michigan’s economy has lost jobs and income relative to the rest of the nation.