Services tax goes in and out of effect

Freep:

"The short, unhappy life of the new Michigan services tax ended Saturday as Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed repeal and replacement legislation, even as confused business owners and their customers tried to figure out whether they were required to collect or pay the tax.

An agreement to repeal the 6% tax on some services and replace it with a surcharge on the state's main business tax came just two months after it was enacted as part of the Oct. 1 deal to address the state budget crisis, but not in time to beat the Dec. 1 effective date.

The surcharge will increase business taxation about $750 million a year, the amount needed to fully replace the services tax."