Nobody likes tax increases. But would you support first responders, police officers, firefighters, EMS by paying an Entertainment Tax on tickets to big events?
House Bill 5174 would put a 10% tax on tickets of events with 500 or more people attending in cities with more than 100,000 populations. That would be Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Sterling Heights, Lansing, Ann Arbor and Flint.
The tax would be on tickets in Detroit to the Zoo, museums, professional sports, concerts and amusement parks. Events not included in the tax would be K-12 school events, collegiate athletics, non-profit and charitable events.
Mark Diaz, President of the Detroit Police Officers Association says this is needed as the state legislature looks at cutting retirement benefits for public employees because they are underfunded and cities can’t make up the difference.
“This legislation helps to support those cities struggling.”
Diaz also says thousands of Detroit retirees had their benefits cut in the bankruptcy and this will help.
“People who lost their retirement health insurance entirely. And had to, while living on a fixed income, had to come up with another way to afford health insurance to their families.”
The legislation is only a couple of weeks old and it is too early to know what support it will get. They have through all of next year to get it passed.
