SBAM President Brian Calley issued the following statement in response to Governor Whitmer vetoing support for small businesses within the budget supplemental signed today, specifically
- $150 million to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to offset the impact of fraud
- $405 million for business property and unemployment tax relief and bar and restaurant fee relief
“Small businesses have taken an extraordinary toll because of this pandemic and the state’s response to it. The overwhelming majority of small business owners have sacrificed their economic health willingly with a high degree of fidelity to government rules and restrictions. They have faced a public health crisis and an economic crisis. The State of Michigan’s approach has been extraordinarily detrimental to small businesses, usually far exceeding national norms in pandemic responses.
Governor Whitmer has vetoed small business support multiple times, even as the state has received a windfall of financial support from the federal government. Today’s veto sends a message that the state is not serious about the survival of small businesses. We worked hard to ensure that small business support was not tied to curtailment of any emergency powers because we didn’t want the Governor to have to pick between emergency powers and supporting small business. She could have done both because small business support was not tied to emergency power reductions.
We are asking for the Michigan Legislature to override the vetoes of small business support. Small businesses deserve better.”