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Last month, President and CEO Bob Doyle testified in front of a committee in support of Senate Bill 56. Wednesday, the Michigan Senate passed Senate Bill 56, a proposal to update the Michigan Penal Code regarding cohabitation. The bill earned bipartisan support and passed 29 to 9.

Tax preparers from around the state brought the bill, which became law in 1931, and its unintended tax implications to the attention of the MICPA. A preparer must indicate their clients are not in violation of any state law in order to qualify for various tax credits, therefore numerous MICPA members are obligated to ask about clients’ living situations when preparing a return.

This bill would not place unmarried couples in the same tax position as married couples in the state, the bill only places unmarried couples in Michigan at the same tax position as unmarried couples in almost every other state in the country.

Approximately 95,000 Michigan households could be denied benefits under the current 1931 law.

The bill now heads to the Michigan House of Representatives.

The MICPA is working with Senator Stephanie Chang (D – Detroit) and Representative Kelly Breen (D – Novi) on putting a card of support for the legislation, or another committee testimony in favor of the bill to address misnomers raised in the Senate floor debate this past week.