Taxing tobacco products and sports gambling is part of a plan that Governor Gretchen Whitmer says will raise nearly $1 billion for the state, but it’s coming with pushback from Republicans.
Whitmer says the proposed tax on cigarettes, vapes, and nicotine pouches would raise $332 million for the state of Michigan. Her $900 million tax revenue plan also includes a $0.25 per wager tax on sports betting. But Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall says a tax hike on things like that is off the table for Michigan Republicans.
“We’re not going to raise taxes on vape and alternative nicotine products and other tobacco products,” Hall said. “We’re not going to do a delivery tax. We’re not going to raise taxes on internet gaming. We’re not going to do any of that. There will be no tax increases in this budget.”
Whitmer is recommending a $88.1 billion budget. That’s an increase of about $7 billion from last year’s budget. Some lawmakers, like Democratic state Senator Sarah Anthony, said the increase is due to the federal government increasing healthcare costs.
“And I don’t think that any conversations, any budget negotiations can begin until we have that recognition that this was by design, that states across the country are cutting billions and billions of dollars from essential services because of those decisions,” Anthony said.
Republican Representative Phil Green said we’re facing those costs because the state failed to prepare for the known temporary federal cuts.
“All this is going away, but we knew it when it was given to us,” Green said. “And I feel like we weren’t prudent. And I’ve been here for eight years, in this spot for eight years. I feel like we weren’t prudent. And now we’re going, ‘Oh, crud.’ Now what are we going to do when we knew it was coming down the pike?”
That budget was presented to a joint session of the appropriations committees. Now both the House and Senate need to review, modify, negotiate, and finalize that bill before it could be signed by the governor.
It took some time for lawmakers to agree to a budget last year, and they worked right down to the deadline. There’s about 140 days left until then.
Whitmer’s office released more about her budget proposal here.
