Boyink! - Spring Forward on the Web

Michigan residents would pay a 2 percent sales tax starting June 1 on everything from haircuts to movie tickets and legal fees under a proposal by Gov. Jennifer Granholm that was unveiled Wednesday. Full Story >>

Ms. Granholm -

I am one of the so-called “knowledge-workers” that you are so desperate to have live in Michigan. 

But here’s the funny thing - I, like most other knowledge workers, am by definition not tied to a specific geographic location.  I can work from anywhere. 

And frankly - it sucks being a knowledge worker in Michigan.  Regardless of your efforts, and in spite of Google’s recent decision to put an office here, Michigan is not considered a “cool state” by the tech industry.  Oh - there are spots of success like Ann Arbor arguably being the home of Information Architecture.  But I can’t tell you the last time I attended a tech industry conference, trade show, or seminar of significance.  Why?  Because they are all out of state - organizers of these events know where the money is, and it isn’t in Michigan.

And, also like most other knowledge workers, my income is service-based.

Simply put, ideas like taxing services give us just one more reason to consider moving out of Michigan.

Now don’t get me wrong—I love Michigan.  I was born and raised here.  I’m raising my family not two miles from where I grew up.  I have family here.  I love the seasons and the scenery.  I’d hate to leave.

But - it’s already hard enough to scrape out a living with what’s left of Michigan’s economy.  Most of my current business is non-local.  If moving out of state means a better life for my family, and an easier or more profitable time for my business—you can bet we’ll seriously consider it.

Comments are closed, but you can read the comments other people left.

1. Dave J. on February 08, 2007

   It’s also hard to do scrape up business in a state that has to cut corners on all the services it provides. And all this budget-wrangling just keeps the state focused on ‘now’, and not where we should be going.

   Any tax is going to be a hardship on someone somewhere, and without other states collecting such a tax, doubly so. I thank you for bringing this up, because I tend to think of paying 2% more on my hair cuts. You are talking about B2B transactions, & out of state, too—that is a different angle.

   Implementation (practicality) may be what kills this, but for me, as a resident, it is something I think may bring long term stability to the state. I applaud her nerve to actually suggest this. Something the representatives that eliminated the SBT didn’t have the you-know-whats to do.

2. Boyink (Author) on February 08, 2007

   Term limits = nerve…;)

   I note that all of the articles talking about this tax are mentioning haircuts, drycleaning, and movie tickets - all of which would add up to an estimated $56/year per family according to one article. 

   That’s all well and fine - but I do wonder about the larger B2B ramifications - what “services” fall under that?  Construction?  Software development?  Painting?  Cleaning?  Consulting?

   Lots of questions….

3. Boyink (Author) on March 08, 2007

   Well finally the complete list of proposed taxable services and exemptions has found it’s way to the web(PDF File).  For me as a business it appears I would be exempt from the tax, based on the following text:

   Internet service providers, Web search portals, data processing services, and other information services – Includes access to the Internet; Internet search facilities; transforming, preparing, or placing data for dissemination on the Internet for others. Also includes the use of shared computer resources, news syndicates, libraries, and archives.

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