Michigan Republicans want to give Michiganders a tax break, but their Democratic colleagues are vowing to oppose the move.

State Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, introduced House Bill 4170 on Wednesday to roll back Michigan’s personal income tax rate to 4.05%, shaving .20% from the current rate of 4.25%.

The change would equate to an annual tax cut of $142 for Michigan families with a median household income, which was roughly $71,000 in 2023, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.

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“Michigan families need a break. So many families are struggling right now just to keep up with rising costs — whether it’s groceries, gas, housing, or child care,” Schmaltz said in a statement. “People need relief, and they need it now.

“When state government collects more money than it needs, that money should go back to the hardworking people who earned it,” she said. “My plan will ensure that Michigan families and small businesses get the relief they deserve and can count on tax cuts staying in place.”

Republicans approved legislation in 2015 to provide automatic income tax cuts when the state’s revenues grow faster than inflation, triggering a reduction in 2023 from 4.25% to 4.05%.

Architects of the law including former Gov. Rick Snyder, former House Speaker Kevin Cotter, and former Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof intended for the cut to be permanent, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, Attorney General Dana Nessel ruled the tax cut a temporary one-year reprieve.

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Republican lawmakers, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Associated Builders and Contractors sued, but a three-judge panel with the Court of Claims sided with Whitmer and Nessel in March 2024.

The Democrat-majority Michigan Supreme Court in August declined to hear an appeal in the case, effectively locking in the 5% tax hike for 2024.

Schmaltz’s HB 4170 would restore the rate to 4.05% effective Jan. 1, 2025, and clarify the 2015 law to ensure future automatic reductions are permanent, unless changed through legislative action.

“So you’ll get the income tax cut and it’ll stay that way,” Schmaltz told WSYM.

Schmaltz pointed to two years of higher-than-anticipated tax revenues as evidence the state has the money it needs.