By Staff
NILES – Gary Walter, executive vice president of the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors, said his organization is strongly opposed to the 2 percent service tax proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
If passed, home buyers would pay the 2 percent tax on a number of services necessary when buying a house, such as home inspections, pest inspections, repairs and services provided by lenders and mortgage brokers, Walter said.
"From a real estate standpoint it's going to cost a consumer when they purchase a house more money," Walter said. "It's going to add up to where people are going to need more money to purchase a home."
Additional quarterly paperwork is one concern Debora Stefanos said she had with the two-penny plan. Stefanos owns Off Main Street Hair Salon in Niles.
A greater fear she said she has is that the 2 percent tax would hurt Michigan's strongest industry.
Out-of-state visitors wanting massages and spa treatments may turn elsewhere if the services they typically purchase during their vacation are taxed in Michigan.
"I think in the long run it will hurt us more … because the only thing we'll have left is our tourism," Stefanos said. "I don't think that's what we need since we already have property taxes and sales taxes."