2/8/11 - With the legislature now dominated by Republicans, a state lawmaker from the area is predicting a shift in Michigan’s tax structure in the current legislative session. State Rep. Cindy Denby of Handy Township and State Rep. Bill Rogers of Genoa Township both spoke at the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce’s Good Morning Livingston meeting Tuesday. Denby predicts newly-elected Gov Rick Snyder will call for a change in the state’s tax structure when he unveils his new budget proposal on Feb. 17. The question is whether he will propose a decrease in the state’s income tax or a tax freeze. The legislature raised the state income tax in 2007, and the measure required the tax to start dropping beginning this year. Snyder could call for a complete overhaul in the tax structure, which has been called outdated and anti-business. Denby also hopes for a restructuring or complete elimination of the Michigan Business Tax and the business surcharge. Lowering the income tax would mean $150 million less in revenue next year and $700 million less in 2015 if the rate drops to 3.9 per cent as scheduled. The new budget year starts in October.(TT)