LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After years of quiet frustration from homeowners, property taxes are finally becoming a serious talking point in Lansing. A growing number of Michigan lawmakers are now acknowledging what residents across the state have been saying for years: rising property tax bills are putting real pressure on families, seniors, and small business owners.
A 10% refund for seniors after the payment is made.
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to unveil a new budget proposal Wednesday that reportedly includes a roughly 10% reduction in the state’s property tax burden – through a targeted senior tax credit designed to reduce bills for older homeowners. Though seniors will likely welcome the relief, it’s a modest break – not the broad millage cuts or outright eliminations offered in other Republican plans. It also means seniors would have to front the tax bill themselves and then wait to recoup the money the following year when they file their taxes.
Republican “Ax MI Tax” vs. “let’s tinker with it.”
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On the right flank, Republican gubernatorial candidate Karla Wagner has a plan to entirely eliminate property taxes through a constitutional amendment if her “Ax MI Tax” proposal lands on the 2026 ballot – a proposal that’s both wildly popular among anti-tax activists and frightening to local governments that rely on that revenue for schools, libraries and more.
What other Republicans are looking at.
House GOP Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has also floated ballot-oriented property tax reform, albeit much more modest – possibly restructuring the burden rather than erasing it. He would like the Legislature to adopt their own property tax cut proposal and let the voters decide which they prefer in November. While speaking on Michigan Public Television show “Off The Record” in December of 2025, he said there is a need to cut property taxes. Having identified property tax reform as a top legislative priority, Hall added, “Affordability is going to be probably the biggest issue in the election.”
Meanwhile in Lansing, Republican Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) introduced a package to exempt households without children in public schools from the school portion of property tax – a bold, if controversial, carve-out that could slash taxes for a big slice of residents while taking billions out of school funding if enacted.
In a statement, Carra said, “Michigan taxpayers deserve fairness in how their hard-earned money is spent. It’s fundamentally unjust to force people – including seniors, empty-nesters, those who pay for private school, and those without children – to subsidize a government education system they do not use. This is especially unfair because our broken system spends a record amount of money yet results continue to plummet.”
Bottom line: small change vs. big shifts.
At the end of the day, the divide is stark. Democrats are offering a carefully measured trim, targeted at a narrow group and delivered later through the tax code. Republicans are proposing structural overhauls that would fundamentally change how Michigan funds schools and local government.
