Category Archives: Industry & Manufacturing

Service Tax repeal appears certain

Capitol, Landing MI by Irina Vasiliu
Below you'll find a news release from Governor Granholm regarding an agreement to add a 21.9% surcharge to the new Michigan Business Tax to replace the 6% Michigan Service Tax.
The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News have details on the agreement as well.

The Eleven Seconds to Midnight Gang rides again

Carousel by jnhkrawczyk
"We've got a shift starting in 36 hours that we've got to charge 6% more on ... and I don't know how to do it."
-John Evans, president of Evans Distribution
Welcome to Michigan, where we somehow seem to be stuck in the Reality TV version of Groundhog Day: Your Government inAction. With just hours [...]

Shop Michigan: Travel Folding Cribbage Set from Drueke

At just under four inches long when folded, the Travel Folding Cribbage Set is great to take on any trip, and it even comes with playing cards. It's a must-have for any cribbage fan.
The Drueke Company was founded in 1914 in Grand Rapids, filling the gap left when World War I made it impossible to [...]

Word of the Week: Freighter

St. Mary's Challenger by midmichphotos
The word of the week is freighter, a familiar sight all along Michigan's shores. If there's one site that you can't miss, it's Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online aka "boatnerd.com". For well over a decade, the site has been chronicling the passage of the vessels of the Great Lakes. It [...]

6% of x? Untangling Michigan's Service Tax

Half Staff by Apocaplops
UPDATE Oct 25: Carol of ArborLaw.com writes:
I actually have the entire list of services descriptions covered by the law, on my blog at Arborlaw.com. When the law came out, I cross-referenced the NAICS codes (which are incorporated into the new law specifically by reference) with the section numbers from the bill and [...]

Blogs We Dig: Michigan Innovators

Moon Patrol by powerbooktrance
Each post at Michigan Innovators is a video podcast interview with innovators who can or have had an impact on Michigan's economy. Two professors at the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University, Diana Wong and Bud Gibson, started the site with hopes that it would become a "highly visible repository [...]

Shutdown averted … by a service tax

An appeal to reason by Apocaplops
StateGate seems like it might be nearing its conclusion with an 13th hour deal reached at 4 AM when legislators were apparently too tired to fight anymore. The LSJ reports:
"This budget agreement is the right solution for Michigan," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a news release after the vote. "We [...]

When things get ugly

When Things Get Ugly by taterfalls
For the last month, Michigan has been watching the slow-motion train wreck that is our legislature in action as they spin their wheels on a budget deal. Then, two days ago, GM's workers went on strike and it looked like that might be all she wrote for Michigan. Thankfully, the [...]

Five things you need to know for Thursday, September 20, 2007

It's been 2 months since our last Five Things you need to know about Michigan posting. I'm tempted to say that there was nothing you needed to know over that period, but the truth is we were busy working and trying to enjoy all the summer fun Michigan has to offer!
(not) Getting the job done

Countdown [...]

Sulfide mining slouches onward

If you're wondering what all the fuss is about metallic sulfide mining in Michigan, the best place to get your feet wet is to watch this video from Dick Huey, a spokesman for the group Save the Wild UP:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1650665350951640538

Acid Mine Drainage by Save the Wild UP
If a mine with the potential to generate battery acid [...]