COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Flocking across the state line for financial relief, southern Michigan residents are increasingly fueling up in Indiana following a dramatic divergence in state tax policies.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun instituted a 30-day “tax holiday” by suspending both the state’s 36-cent gasoline excise tax and its 23-cent gasoline use tax, dropping prices by roughly 59 to 70 cents per gallon compared to Michigan.
The massive price gap has turned Hoosier gas stations in Steuben and LaGrange counties into magnets for frustrated Michiganders, leaving local Michigan retailers to watch their customers cross the border to save on their daily commutes.
The exodus at the pump has amplified calls for legislative action within Michigan, to do the same.
State Senator Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater). Lindsey, whose southern border district is directly impacted by the consumer migration, says he would be in favor of a gas tax holiday for consumers in Michigan.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has resisted suspending the state’s 52.4-cent fuel tax due to concerns over losing vital road repair funding.
State representative Kathy Schmaltz has similar pending legislation in the house that would suspend the gas tax through November or until pump prices drop below $3.50 per gallon nationally.
Lindsey argues that taking the government out of taxpayers’ pockets is essential during a time of skyrocketing costs.
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