Detroit Regional Chamber > Advocacy > Michigan Businesses Gear Up for Fights Over Graduated Income Tax, Minimum Wage

Michigan Businesses Gear Up for Fights Over Graduated Income Tax, Minimum Wage

June 27, 2025

Crain’s Detroit Business
June 27, 2025
David Eggert

Business groups are mobilizing against two 2026 ballot drives that could take a procedural step forward as soon as Friday, contending that a proposed graduated income tax and a referendum on a new minimum wage law would kill jobs and lower pay.

The Board of State Canvassers is due to consider 100-word summaries of the petitions, along with their form. Ballot committees typically seek such approvals before collecting signatures.

“This is a small business tax. And $500,000 or $1 million is a really small business. We need more of them in Michigan, not fewer of them,” said Detroit Regional Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Sandy K. Baruah.