Grand Traverse County Republicans host Perry Johnson town hall on tax plan

Grand Traverse County Republicans brought Perry Johnson before local voters to sell a plan that would wipe out Michigan’s 4.25% individual income tax and, he says, leave the average family of four with an estimated $4,747 more each year. In Grand Traverse County, where residents feel state policy through school funding, road work and public safety budgets, the pitch immediately raises the question of what Lansing would cut or replace if the tax disappears.

Johnson has made the income-tax promise a centerpiece of his 2026 campaign for governor. State tax officials say Michigan’s individual income tax rate for the 2026 tax year remains 4.25%, which means Johnson’s proposal would not just trim a rate on paper, it would remove a major state revenue source that currently helps pay for government services. Johnson has said he would offset that loss through a government audit and cuts to nonessential spending.

That audit is branded the MEGA Audit, short for Michigan Efficiency Government Audit. The campaign says it would be a full, department-by-department review of state agencies, departments, boards, commissions and major programs, with the goal of identifying waste, eliminating inefficiency and sending savings back to taxpayers. Supporters frame it as a cleanup of state government. Critics and policy analysts have questioned whether the projected savings would come close to replacing the income-tax revenue and whether the plan leaves unresolved how Michigan would keep funding the services tied to that money.

The tax pledge has also drawn scrutiny from fact-checkers, who have said Johnson’s estimate of $4,747 for a family of four is overstated. Johnson has continued to repeat the number while arguing that a leaner state government can finance the change. He has also said he would pay for the tax cut with a government audit and reductions in spending he considers unnecessary.

The Grand Traverse County Republican Party used the town hall to give Johnson a direct audience in northern Michigan as the Republican governor’s race intensifies. Johnson is already a major figure in the crowded field and has been involved in a public fight with U.S. Rep. John James over ballot petition signatures and campaign branding. For local voters, the bigger issue is not the primary feud but the practical one: whether Johnson’s plan would leave more money in paychecks without forcing painful tradeoffs in the state programs that reach Traverse City and the rest of Grand Traverse County.