Whitmer vetoes bills that would have refunded sales tax on business PPE purchases

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday vetoed legislation creating a new special tax credit for businesses to get a refund for sales taxes on personal protection equipment purchased during the pandemic.

In a veto letter to lawmakers, the Democratic governor said she supports creating a grant program using American Rescue Plan federal funding to help small businesses with PPE expenses.

“Unfortunately, House Bills 4224 and 4225 fall short because they would create a tax credit rather than a grant program, making the expense ineligible for American Rescue Plan dollars,” Whitmer wrote in the veto letter. “I encourage the Legislature to send me bills that would allow us to send these federal relief dollars to hard-working business owners who’ve kept their employees and customers safe over the past 15 months.”

House Bills 4224 and 4225 would have retroactively made PPE such as face masks, gloves and plastic barriers exempt from sales and use taxes for businesses…

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