Bernero Announces Distressed Property Plan

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero has proposed a plan to reclaim distressed property statewide and offer developers cheap or free land, interest-free loans, and no taxes for up to 12 years.

Bernero said his "Make It In Michigan For Free" plan will help revitalize manufacturing in Michigan and create jobs.

"Make It In Michigan For Free is a revolutionary approach to attracting new business and restoring our urban center," Bernero said.

"Businesses will get no taxes for up to twelve years; cheap or free land, working with local governments and land banks; envornomental cleanup using federal dollars and state bonding issues with things like the CMI," he said.

He said the program would identify eligible land and buildings in struggling urban areas. It would be paid for primarily through existing state and federal funding.

Bernero announced his plan Wednesday at the abandoned Packard Motor Car plant, a symbol of Detroit's blight that produced its last automobile in the mid-1950s.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder favors eliminating the Michigan Business Tax and replacing it with a corporate income tax that would cut business tax $1.5 billion.
  
(Copyright 2010 WWJ Radio.  All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)