You Have to be Careful About Tax Reduction Strategies

When the media reports on strategies companies use and have used over the years to minimize their tax burden, their lack of tax expertise and hunger for scandal makes them predisposed to report it like a heinous crime. Look at this article. When you are a prominent retailer, the media can make something look like a scandal and if the result is a backlash by the consumer, the tax savings can be dwarfed by decreases in sales.

No Industry Wants Sales Tax to Apply to Their Services

The investment advice community does not want its services to be taxed in MI. That's certainly predictable. But this article highlights the industry's novel reasoning in why it shouldn't be taxed.

"In a letter to Michigan State Senator Nancy Cassis and Steve Bieda, Chairman of the Michigan House Tax Policy Committee, the Washington-based ICI said that imposing the tax would harm Michigan residents by discouraging them "from seeking financial advice to ensure their retirement security."

Halt the obscene sales tax giveways

This is not my headline; it's the headline in a California newspaper and it shows the degree of dislike people have for certain tax incentives. Getting cities to rebate some of the sales tax collected by retailers continues to be controversial. As more of the general public hears about these types of incentives, the more controversial it will become. At some point, you can probably expect a backlash from consumers and the tax rebates will be insignificant compared to the loss of business. This editorial is evidence of the bad feelings this type of incentive creates.