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The Latest News Releases
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| Steve and builders Bruce Rendon of Lake City and Richard Retz of Houghton Lake at the Capitol. |
May 22, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Candidate for 103rd District Voices Support
of Homebuilders’ Legislative Agenda
LANSING—Michigan Homebuilders were out in force in Lansing on Tuesday (May 20) as they marched
on the Michigan Legislature to bolster a package of bills intended provide consumers with tax breaks, tax credits and incentives
that would stimulate home sales and homebuilding.
Candidate Steve Yantiss, who is running for State Representative
in the 103rd District, was in Lansing to meet homebuilders from his district and around the state. “The legislation
that the Michigan Association of Homebuilders is requesting is rational, well-considered and needed now,” said Yantiss.
“I hope that the current legislature sees the wisdom of passing these bills. If I’m elected to the House of Representatives,
this is precisely the type of pro-business work that I’ll work to introduce and support.”
Among the six-point proposed legislation are calls to exempt builders from paying property tax on unoccupied
homes that are often vacant for months before builders are able to sell them. “This is an unfair burden on these hard-working
entrepreneurs who are putting payroll dollars and material investment on the line,” Yantiss said. “The state of
Michigan should support these builders and the contractors they employ by supporting their ventures, not taxing them out of
existence.” Yantiss also voiced support of proposed reforms to clarify the new Michigan Business
Tax, which has caused the taxes of some builders to go up as much as 400 percent by not allowing them to deduct the cost of
building materials.
Other reforms Yantiss said he agreed with are the exemption of first-time
real estate transfer tax on newly constructed homes, homeowner tax credits of energy efficiency and green building, and a
moratorium on the so-called “pop-up” tax for property sold as a homestead.
“The types of legislation the Michigan Homebuilders support are based on something that
is generally lacking these days in Lansing—common sense,” said Yantiss. “My hat’s off to the Association
for their hard work on this. I look forward to staying in touch with them and with the issues that are so important to Michigan’s
builders—issues that affect all of us in the long run.”
May 22, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CANDIDATE YANTISS OPPOSES DEMOCRATS’ DAMAGING WATER PLAN
EAST
TAWAS—Steve Yantiss, candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives, today criticized a vote by State Representative
Joel Sheltrown that puts extreme new burdens on struggling Michigan farmers and manufacturers, including unlimited lawsuits.
“These votes will allow people who don't care about our jobs or food prices to stop farmers and
manufacturers from operating in Michigan,” said Yantiss. “This is another case of a politician going off
to Lansing and forgetting the people back at home.” Yantiss is running to represent the 103rd, which covers Iosco, Ogemaw,
Roscommon and Missaukee counties.
Among several bills passed by the House on May 21, HB 5070 would
allow any person or organization to file suit to stop farming or manufacturing that uses water. Under current law, only
those impacted by such usage are eligible to file suit.
Bills in this package are opposed by groups like
the Michigan Farm Bureau and Michigan Manufacturing Association.
“There must be a balance between water
usage and conservation, but this plan will kill jobs and drive up food prices,” Yantiss said. “When
the farming and manufacturing communities both oppose something, the folks in Lansing should be listening. One would
think, with the importance of farming and manufacturing in this
district, that Mr. Sheltrown would not vote in a way that harms these two vital industries with burdensome lawsuits. What’s
more, the Farm Bureau and the Manufacturers Association implored the Democrats to vote against this.” Yantiss notes
that one of Sheltrown’s largest supporters is the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association, saying, “Someone else must
have Joel’s ear.”
FOR RELEASE:
APRIL 15, 2008
Republican
Reform Candidate Celebrates Tax Day by
Announcing Run for 103 District Representative
East Tawas, MI—Steve Yantiss (R-East Tawas), announced formally today
that he will run in the 2008 election for State Representative.“It’s time to return to a government of the people,
by the people and for the people,” said Yantiss. “Last October, the party in power in Lansing voted in the largest
tax increase in Michigan’s history at a time when businesses and individuals are struggling. The people of the 103rd
District and the rest of the State deserve far better than that.”
“My
career has trained me to look for inefficiencies and waste, and I plan to take the same approach to my responsibilities in
Lansing,” said Yantiss, who is an automotive engineering consultant. “Lansing needs to be fixed, and the massive
tax-and-spending spree promoted by the Democrats needs to end. People are being taxed out of Michigan. As the economy slides
and tax rates go up, people are leaving the state at an alarming rate. We need to reverse those trends—that means electing
representatives who will fight for reform.”
Yantiss’s
connection to the 103rd district has been lifelong, beginning with fishing trips on Lake Huron and the Au Sable
river system since he was a boy. He has owned property in Baldwin Township since 1999, a home since 2004, and he currently
resides there. He has been in the automotive design and engineering business since 1979 in leadership roles taking projects
from design to completion on time and under budget, which has involved interfacing with all levels of the manufacturing community,
from top management to the assembly floor.
Yantiss is a member of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, the National Rifle
Association, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Harley Owners Group and Michigan Public Television. He is married with two children
and is an avid hunter and fisherman.
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