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Calling a proposed 45-cent-per-gallon tax hike “regressive,” state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis (R-Grand Rapids Township) has waded into the budget battle between Republicans and Democrats.
According to at least one media report, Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a champion of the gas tax, walked away from negotiations Wednesday.
“The Michigan Legislature has been working hard to find bipartisan solutions to fix our roads and resolve budget negotiations,” Afendoulis said in a press release just two weeks before the impasse. “All the governor has done is promote a 45-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase. Her gas tax increase is regressive and hurts those who can least afford it."
Rep. Lynn Afendoulis (R-Grand Rapids Township)
| Michigan House Republicans
In the release, Afendoulis encouraged the governor to introduce the tax and have it put to a vote. She predicted the governor would abandon the tax after it fails when put to a vote.
“Then maybe she would get serious and consider our alternatives that respect Michigan families and their budgets while addressing important needs such as roads and schools — without going to taxpayers and asking for ridiculous rate hikes,” Afendoulis said.
As the release stated, the House budget provides more money for schools and roads without raising taxes.
“Those are the facts, and no amount of scare tactics from the governor can change them,” she said.
Afendoulis chairs the Michigan House Tax Policy Committee.
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