密歇根新闻广播 密歇根在公司福利政策上大量投资 细节还未公开

You might recall the Legislature recently rejected lowering the income tax rate. The judgment¹ of the majority and the Governor was that Michigan just couldn't afford it.

Despite revenue increases since recovery from the Great Recession, the State of Michigan says it's still tight. It can't increase revenue sharing to municipalities and couldn't afford to fix the roads without new fees and taxes.

But Michigan still has money for what critics would call "corporate² welfare."

One part of that is a legacy³ of tax credits costing Michigan billions of dollars over several years. A second part is funneling⁴ money to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to invest in Michigan businesses.

The conservative, free market think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy has been writing and testifying about its concerns over MEDC for years.

James Hohman is assistant director of fiscal⁵ policy at the center. He said tax credits handed out in the last decade remain liabilities to the state today.

"We racked up around $10 billion worth of these refundable⁶ business tax credits," he said. "And that's really kind of a misnomer⁷ because these credits were over and above these companies tax liabilities—they're just subsidies⁸. We paid off some of them, but we have at least $8 billion left to go."

Information on the recipients⁹ and size of the credits is not available to the public. There is even uncertainty¹⁰ about the timing¹¹ of the credits among the governor and Legislature, which has created problems for budget forecasters in recent years.

There are similar transparency issues surrounding the MEDC, which awards tax credits and other incentives¹² to companies for projects that could create jobs.

"Because they administer these taxpayer¹³ subsidies through the tax code instead of through direct spending, they say that because these awards are ostensibly for tax credits that they are subject to taxpayer confidentiality¹⁴ rules," Hohman said. "I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's appropriate."

1 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 funneling   

[医]成漏斗形：描述膀胱底及膀胱尿道交接区

参考例句：

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 Refundable   

adj.可归还的，可退还的

参考例句：

• All deposits for holiday cottages are refundable. 度假别墅的抵押金可全数退还。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Empty bottles are not refundable. 空瓶不退。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 misnomer   

n.误称

参考例句：

• Herbal"tea"is something of a misnomer because these drinks contain no tea at all.花草“茶”是一个误称，因为这类饮料里面根本不含茶。
• Actually," Underground "is a misnomer,because more than half the shops are above ground.实际上，“ 地下 ” 这个名称用之不当，因为半数以上的店铺是在地面上的。

8 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

11 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

12 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

14 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。