We've all seen the TV commercials about the upcoming May 5 vote on Proposal 1.

Those ads certainly lead you to believe the proposal would increase the sales tax one percent and that money would be used on roads, right?

Well, kind of.

This tutorial on the Detroit Free Press web site helps you to understand what Proposal 1 is all about, but I will warn you, it winds up confusing the issue even more.

Here's an excerpt:

Q: So how would Proposal 1 solve the funding shortfall?

A: In the most roundabout way possible.

If approved by voters, Proposal 1 would amend the state constitution to raise the maximum allowable sales tax rate by one penny, from the current 6% rate to 7%.

Q: And that would generate enough to fix the roads?

Well, no. In fact, not one dime of that increased sales tax revenue would be used to supplement the roads budget.

Q. What?!? Isn't the whole point to generate more money for roads?

A. Yes, but none of the constitutional changes voters are being asked to approve in Proposal 1 would do that directly.

Instead, passage of Proposal 1 would trigger implementation of a series of bills that would exempt fuel purchases from the sales tax and impose a new, higher fuel tax whose proceeds would be earmarked exclusively for roads and mass transit.

So why do the commercials seem to draw a direct correlation between the tax and the roads when the whole thing can be withdrawn?

I have no idea.

Both the Republicans and Democrats are officially "neutral" on the proposal, and when they agree it can't be good.

Proponents say approving an imperfect plan is better than doing nothing, because the more that Michigan's roads are allowed to deteriorate, the more they will cost to fix.

There is political opposition to the proposed plan as well. Adam Angeli is the executive director of Concerned Taxpayers of Michigan. He said there are many issues with the proposed tax. One is that it is really confusing to voters.

He said there is not just sales tax increases, but also vehicle registration fee increases and other aspects, too many to be jammed into the ballot language for voters to understand.

Amen to that, brother.

If you want to wade through the pros and cons, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan is offering a free analysis of the proposal if you have an hour or so of free time to hash it out. In the meantime, good luck, and remember, we're all counting on you to figure it out in time.

Here's Governor Rick Snyder answering questions on the subject recently on FOX 5 in Detroit, even though he was originally against the proposal.

 

 

 

 

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