As I’ve blogged here and here, Michigan’s Single Business Tax needs an overhaul, an idea that is supported by legislators on both sides of the aisle. This potential bi-partisan consensus makes today’s move by the State House to politics first all the more distressing. This could have been a bi-partisan solution to our state’s business tax problems. Instead, State House Republicans once again showed they would rather play political games in an election year than do the real work necessary to get Michigan back on the right track.

So, as the State House heads off for Spring Break, here’s a little homework…

1. If fixing the SBT is such an urgent matter (and I agree that it is), why put it off until next year? Instead, why not sit down, hammer out a solution, and phase it out right away?

2. For that matter, if it’s so urgent that we need to cut nearly $2 billion from the state’s general fund – the same fund needed to pay for schools, prisons and our state’s safety net – why did you not even consider the governor’s proposal to revamp the SBT when she proposed it last year?

3. If this is really about reforming the SBT – and not about partisan posturing – why didn’t you even consider the compromise put forward by Governor Granholm this week?

4. If the primary rationale behind eliminating Michigan’s Single Business Tax was to cut down on the SBT’s uncertainty, why did you add to the uncertainty by not even telling Michigan businesses and consumers what the new tax system would look like?

5. [Multiple choice] What are you going to do to replace the $1.9 billion you are taking away from the general fund? Are you going to:

a. Raise personal income taxes by $800 per family
b. Cut spending on essential programs – like prisons, higher education, the State Police, and community health and human services – by an average of 21.4%
c. A combination of both (but please don’t ask us the details before November’s election)

Right now, the Republican members of the State House fail this test. And until that changes, they are also failing their constituents and a state that needs real reform far more than it needs more political stunts.