An olive leaf on tax policy

The AARP is a dogged advocate for senior citizens. But this dogged advocate is setting a collaborative tone on Michigan tax policy.

Steve Gools, AARP Michigan senior state director, recently did a pretty rare thing in Lansing — he suggested his interest group was willing to step outside its own interest and sacrifice.

Michigan State University’s policy network recently quoted Gools as saying AARP could support a higher taxes on senior citizens if such a hike “was part of a broad plan of fairer taxes…We believe that a tax policy should be progressive…But we should not attempt to balance Michigan’s budget on the backs of senior citizens alone. We need a fair and balanced approach.”

Some economists have long questioned the tax-free ride pensioners get in Michigan. And national studies suggest Michigan is far more generous than other states when it comes to senior citizen taxes.

Whether pension taxes become part of a long-term budget solution remains unclear. But AARP’s willingness to open the door to dialogue is something many other single-interest groups on both the spending and taxing sides in Lansing could emulate.