David Pettit, PIRG in Michigan (PIRGIM) consumer advocate and Phineas Baxandall, Ph.D., federation of state PIRGs' senior analyst for tax and budget policy, have a column Write a simpler, fairer state business tax in today's Detroit Free Press. Among its recommendations:

Level the playing field. Michigan can best prosper and have confidence in its tax system when businesses compete based on their efficiency and innovation, rather than the ingenuity of their lobbyists and tax lawyers. Taxes should be broad-based enough that businesses that pay them are not "suckers" who subsidize competitors.