Gaylord/Otsego County Chamber of Commerce

YOUR MBT EXPERIENCE

MEMBER SURVEY

April 2008

Michigan businesses have just calculated and submitted their first quarter Michigan Business Tax (MBT) payment.In many instances, job providers are finding that their tax liability has increased, sometimes significantly compared to last year.The Chamber and the Northwest Michigan Regional Chamber Alliance want to hear more about these cases, so are conducting a member survey to gather first hand information on how the new tax is impacting northwest Michigan businesses.

We want to hear about the experience your firm or your accountant encountered in preparation of this first MBT filing, how the new tax and the additional surcharge will impact your operations, and any adjustments you will need to make to accommodate this tax.

The Chamber and the Alliance will compile the responses and work with other chamber and business organizations across the state to show legislators how this new tax and surcharge are affecting job providers across northwest Michigan.

Thank you for participating in this important survey. Any information disclosed as proprietary or private will be kept confidential.If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact Jamie Callahan, Sr. Vice President of Government Relations, at jamie@tcchamber.org.

1. Preparation of the MBT compared to the Single Business Tax (SBT) is:

More complicated

Less complicated

No real difference

2.What type of obstacles did you encounter during preparation of the MBT?

Access to reporting forms and directions was difficult

Reporting requirements, definitions, or explanations were unclear or incomplete

Not enough information available from Department of Treasury

All of the above

No major problems or concerns

3. Your MBT tax liability compared to the SBT will be:

Higher

Lower

About the same

4. If your tax burden is going to be higher, to what degree is the increase?

0-50%

51-100%

101-250%

Over 250%

5. If you did see an increase, what type of impact could it have on your business?

Layoff employees

Delay any new hiring

Cancel any wage/salary or benefit increases

Delay plant or equipment investment

Consider leaving region

Increase need for loan/line of credit to stay open

Absorb the cost

6. If your tax liability decreased, how do you foresee that impacting the business?

No real change

Allows for new employees

Able to increase employee wages or benefits

Save it for the future

7. From an overall perspective, which tax structure would you rather operate your business?

MBT

SBT

Don’t like either one

Okay with either one

8.What specific changes would you make to the MBT so the tax was more equitable?

9.Additional comments:

10.Contact information (optional).Please include name, company and email.