1. MIC
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I G A N H O U
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1. Michigan ranks 29th in PersonalTax Equality
Why is it that an impoverished family living in Flint making $10,000 a year and a working-class family
in Howell making $50,000 contribute 9.2 percent of their hard-earned money each year, while
billionaires contribute less than 5 percent toward an education system, workforce and infrastructure
that helped them accumulate unimaginable personal wealth? .
2. Michigan ranks 48th in the percentage of local and state taxes contributed by businesses
In 2011, Republicans passed the largest tax shift – from corporations onto individuals – in state history.
As a result, working families and retirees have seen their taxes increase by over $4 billion since 2012.
Today, businesses contribute only 36 percent of state and local tax revenue – 48th in the country –
while working families contribute more than their fair share of the remaining 64 percent.
3. Michigan has fallen from 16th to 35th in Median Household Income since 1999
Adjusted for inflation, Michigan’s median household income has declined by $15,633 (24 percent)
since 1999, and recent“reforms”have only made the problem worse by shifting taxes onto working
families and retirees, and cutting the essential services we need to compete for jobs.
Join me to Learn More & Receive Free Tax Assistance
Tax EqualityTown Hall
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
6 to 8 p.m.
Detroit Plumbers Union Local 98
555 Horace Brown Drive, Madison Heights
Wehearalotabout“metrics”thesedays,butyou
won’tfindtheseonGov.RickSnyder’sdashboard:
We will have certified accountants
on hand to answer questions and
provide residents with free tax filing
information.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
JIM TOWNSEND
HOUSE DISTRICT 26
Email: jimtownsend@house.mi.gov
Website: townsend.housedems.com
Toll-free: (866) 585-2471
Phone: (517) 373-3818
STATE REPRESENTATIVE JIM TOWNSEND | P.O. BOX 30014, LANSING, MI 48909-7514
MICHIGANHOUSEOFREPRESENTATIVES
STATEREPRESENTATIVE
JIMTOWNSEND
RestoringMichigan’sMiddleClass

2. Since1999,medianhouseholdincomehas
decreasedbymorethan24percent,$15,633
annually.Thisrepresentsahugelossinearnings
forworkingfamilies.
Whiletheunemploymentratehasslowlydeclinedsincethe
greatrecession,wageshavenotrecovered.Medianhousehold
incomeremains13percentbelowpre-recessionlevels.
Intheinterestofworkingfamiliesandourlocaleconomies,it
iscriticalthatweaddressdecliningwages.
Good-payingJobsEssential
toEconomicGrowth
Coffee Hours with State Representative Jim Townsend
For your convenience, this year
I will be holding coffee hours
on the second and fourth
Friday each month:
Second Friday of each month
Bean and Leaf Café
106 S. Main St. in Royal Oak
at 8:30 a.m.
Fourth Friday of each month
Sero’s Restaurant
375 W. 12 Mile Road in Madison Heights
at 8:30 a.m.
TAX EQUALITY VITAL TO MICHIGAN’S FUTURE
In a nation founded on the principle of equality,
how is it that those who can least afford it
contribute the highest percentage, while those
who accumulate unimaginable wealth contribute
half as much to the state that helped provide
them with the resources and opportunity to
pursue their dreams?
The answer is we rely too heavily on regressive sales and
property taxes that excessively shoulder working families
with the responsibility of funding the essential services we
all need.
While working-class families do more than their part
to invest in Michigan’s future, corporations and the
wealthiest 1 percent are not contributing their share to a
state that educates their workforce, maintains the roads
on which their goods move and provides health care to
their low-income employees.
Now, Republicans in the Legislature want working families
to pay for another handout for the wealthiest 1 percent.
House Republicans recently announced a plan to reduce,
or even eliminate, our income tax, the only tax that
doesn’t disproportionately hurt working-class families.
Rather than further enriching millionaires and billionaires,
we need to come together to address runaway tuition
rates, fix our infrastructure and help our children succeed.
A graduated income tax, which has been adopted by 35
other states and the federal government, is an essential
step in that direction.
A graduated income tax would provide tax equality
by cutting taxes for 95 percent of Michiganders
– families making $165,000 a year or less – and
increase rates gradually on the top 1 percent to:
• Help restore our crumbling infrastructure
• Ensure safe and sustainable communities
• Provide our children with the education they need
to realize their fullest potential
• Lower tuition rates to ensure graduates aren’t
burdened by unimaginable debt
How will future generations of entrepreneurs and workers
pursue their dreams when our state lacks the education
system, workforce, infrastructure and other essentials that
businesses and employees rely on to foster economic
growth?
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
$47,000
$49,000
$51,000
$53,000
$55,000
$57,000
$59,000
$61,000
$63,000
$65,000
9.2
10
0
5
Percent of Household Income Contributed on State and Local Taxes
20%
$0 to $17k
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
9.29.4
20%
$17 to $34k
20%
$34 to $56k
9 7.7 6.8 5.1
20%
$56 to $88k
15%
$88 to $165k
4%
$165 to $392k
1%
$392,000+
Household Income Level & Percentage of Households
PercentofHouseholdIncome
U.S.Adjustedforinflation
MichiganAdjustedforinflation
Percent of Household Income Contributed in State and Local Taxes
Median Household Income (1999 - 2013)
Income