Rick Snyder: I signed a tax cut into law in 2015. It was meant to be permanent.

Did Michigan’s leaders guarantee a permanent tax cut in 2015? This question has led to much confusion in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and the state courts. But as the governor who signed that tax cut into law, I can say unequivocally that the answer is “yes.” Michiganians need a tax cut — and by law, they should have one.

Here’s the real story — a story that many of our leaders seem to have conveniently forgotten. Back in 2014, we needed to raise revenue for road repairs. Our roads were in poor condition. At first, we tried a ballot proposal to come up with new revenues for our roads. It failed.

So, in 2015, we tried a new tactic. I negotiated an agreement with the House and Senate on gas taxes and license fees, which included indexing the gas tax to inflation. We also agreed to devote a certain amount of general fund revenue to roads. 

The House and Senate only agreed to move forward if we also provided a path to an income tax cut. At the time, the individual income tax rate was 4.25%, following a 2007 increase. The Legislature wanted to bring rates back down for hardworking families.

I agreed that returning the income tax to below 4% was right, but the timing was wrong. Michigan was still trying to get our financial footing back after the damage of the Great Recession, which included paying down our long-term debt. So, I proposed a formula where the income tax rate would go down when the state had enough of a budget surplus — basically, a guarantee of fiscal responsibility.

Being a proud nerd, I actually built an excel spreadsheet with a formula showing that the reductions would likely happen in the mid-2020s. The Republican leadership of both chambers accepted my proposal since it provided long-term tax relief to hard working Michiganians.

I proudly signed this bill into law on Dec. 1, 2015. As I said at the time, it would make a real investment in Michigan roads without simply adding more borrowing and debt like my predecessors. And of course, it provided tax relief to hard-working taxpayers as soon as the state was on sound financial footing. It was a win for everyone who calls Michigan home.

Everything went according to plan. Michigan’s economy grew faster than expected, so the tax cut was triggered last year. Families got their well-deserved income tax cut for their 2023 taxes, and they were excited to know that it would be permanent. After all, they got to keep more of their hard-earned money, which is especially important after years of inflation.

But Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have other plans. They want to keep spending more of the taxpayers' money and, since last year, they’ve claimed the tax cut was temporary. They even convinced a state court to agree with them. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy and a group of taxpayers have now taken this issue to the state Supreme Court.

The justices need to make clear that the tax cut is permanent, as the law demands. If they won’t, the Legislature should remove any doubt.

Take it from me, the governor who signed this tax cut into law: We gave Michigan families permanent relief because an efficient and effective state government should prioritize returning their hard-earned dollars to help cover the rising costs they face in their lives.

Rick Snyder was the 48th governor of Michigan, serving from 2010 to 2018.