LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson has ideas about making Michigan’s tax code more “equitable.” There’s just one little detail she apparently doesn’t have at her fingertips: the state income tax rate. And aviation fuel taxes apparently aren’t her strong suit either.

A video clip recently posted by the conservative advocacy group Michigan Forward shows Benson being asked, “What is the state income tax?”

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Her answer? “I’m not sure off the top of my head,” but she still presses forward to say that “we have to re-examine our entire tax code.”

For anyone keeping score at home, Michigan’s individual income tax rate is currently 4.25%.

After not being able to answer what the state income tax is, she pivoted to argue that you can fuel a private plane in Michigan without having to pay taxes. But that isn’t right either.

A result of bipartisan tax policy.

Private planes don’t exactly fuel up tax-free in Michigan. Aviation fuel is subject to a different set of state tax rules than gasoline used in cars, and the exact taxes can depend on the type of fuel and transaction. Overall, however, aviation fuel is subject to taxation in Michigan, and making a blanket claim that aircraft owners pay “no taxes” on fuel is inaccurate. Additionally, Michigan’s broader fuel tax system that exists today was substantially restructured as part of the 2025 road-funding package approved by the bipartisan legislature and signed into law by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Campaigning without numbers.

The source and date of the full interview are unclear. Michigan Forward circulated the clip, but it is not known when or where the conversation originally took place. The clip appears to be part of a longer interview that included discussion of Benson’s 2025 memoir, The Purposeful Warrior, along with her political views and gubernatorial campaign.

Regardless of when or where the interview took place, for a gubernatorial candidate to call for a reexamination of Michigan’s entire tax code without knowing the state’s income tax rate raises questions about how well that person understands the system they want to overhaul.