Displaying items tagged: Small Business Association of Michigan

It’s a painful memory: In 2009 the banking crisis and housing recession led to a credit crunch, and business owners suddenly couldn’t access the capital they needed to operate and grow.

Ford Motor Co.’s plans to invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant near Marshall came as good news to economic developers across West Michigan. 

LANSING — A business group on Monday requested changes to fast-tracked bills that would reverse Michigan’s “retirement tax,” proposing revisions its leader said would narrow disparities in how different seniors would be taxed under the legislation.

As Democrats prepare to control both the executive and legislative branches of state government for the first time in 40 years, business advocates hope to find common ground on issues such as talent and economic development.

A spike in small business formations in Michigan that began in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic continues and easily outpaces the national growth rate.

The Small Business Association of Michigan is building opposition to a proposed federal rule change that could affect millions of workers who earn their living as independent contractors.

JetCo Federal President Sue Schweim Tellier has stepped into a new advocacy role after being named vice chairperson of the Small Business Association of Michigan’s (SBAM) executive committee.

Statewide tax cuts remain on the table for later this year despite a recent budget deal between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers for the state’s coming fiscal year that keeps present tax rates.

Republicans in Lansing have passed another election-year tax cut plan that would reduce the personal income tax, raise Michigan’s earned income tax credit, and create a $500 per-child tax credit.

Michigan slipped six spots in RAND Corp.’s latest analysis of what hospitals in the U.S. charge private health insurers compared to what they receive from Medicare.

Michigan’s business tax climate ranks comparatively well to other states, and business advocates say election-year tax cuts proposed in Lansing could further improve that standing.

A pilot child care program expansion will help West Michigan parents find affordable child care, tackling one factor that has contributed to labor shortages and employees’ difficulty returning to work.

COVID-19 hospitalizations across Michigan declined again during the last week, continuing a trend after peaking about a month ago.

Competing proposals from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republicans who control the Legislature put tax cuts on the election-year agenda in Lansing.

Small business advocates are calling for more support from the state Legislature to help companies that they say are not recovering at the same rate as other sectors in Michigan’s economy. 

State lawmakers have passed $1.48 billion in additional spending to provide incentives for major economic development projects and relief for small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michigan’s economy overall is recovering from last year, but lingering effects from COVID-19 are having a disproportionately negative effect on small businesses, according to a new report released by the Small Business Association of Michigan.

Businesses that employ 100 or more people will have to either require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine or get tested weekly beginning Jan. 4, the Biden administration has announced.

A majority of Michigan small businesses oppose President Biden’s recently announced vaccine mandate as staffing shortages and rising costs remain the biggest obstacles for business owners, according to a new survey by the Small Business Association of Michigan.

As the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations steadily rise in Michigan, business and health care advocates say getting more people vaccinated remains paramount to ending the pandemic and avoiding further economic damage.

Michigan’s small businesses were disproportionately harmed compared to other industries during the pandemic with significant declines in revenue and the number of businesses operating, but experts remain optimistic about a strong post-pandemic recovery.

Republican lawmakers are advancing bills that would reduce Michigan’s corporate income tax rate by 20 percent and create tax credits for businesses that lost at least a quarter of their revenue during COVID-19 restrictions.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce today urged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to update state restrictions after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can go maskless in most indoor settings.

A coalition of Michigan business groups is urging state senators to reject legislation that they claim will drive up the cost of health coverage for small employers.

The Biden administration on Monday announced a series of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program that are aimed at improving access to federal COVID-19 relief loans for small and minority-owned businesses.

Within hours of his inauguration on Jan. 20, President Joe Biden signed executive orders seeking to bolster the country’s COVID-19 response and issued a memo to top federal officials to “preserve and fortify” a key immigration policy for certain undocumented immigrants.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican lawmakers are squaring off over multi-billion-dollar COVID-19 spending plans that would bolster a vaccine rollout, K-12 schools preparedness and crucial business support.

Statewide business groups announced their support today for House Republicans’ COVID-19 spending plan that’s a rebuttal to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $5.6 billion plan unveiled last week.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today named a commission that will work to raise awareness on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and promote the need for people to get vaccinated.

The new round of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans includes a number of changes from the prior funding intended to aid small businesses hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic.