Rep. Jeff Yaroch, a Republican from Richmond, introduced Michigan House Bill 5705 that would cut property taxes imposed on a cottage or second home that an owner has been barred from visiting due to travel restrictions issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Specifically, the bill would repeal property tax liability for these properties for as long as the travel ban remains in effect. The bill states as the “intent of the legislature” that the state would reimburse local governments for the foregone tax collections.
I applaud Rep. Yaroch’s compassion for the people of Michigan who own cottages or second homes. However, do you think some of the people who are laid off, or have lost their job due to the virus could use a property tax repeal more than a family with two homes? If you have two homes and you lose one, you are not homeless. You’re not living in a vehicle or on the street with your children. Rep. Yaroch, would you consider revising Bill 5705 and redirecting this property tax repeal to the people that really need it? After all, God did say, “what you do on to the poor you do on to me.”
—Tom Janicki,
Almont
