Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Welcome to my latest e-newsletter! It continues to be a privilege to represent Livonia, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our community in Lansing. I encourage you to stay up to date on what’s going on in Lansing and continue to let me know about the issues that matter to you.
If there is anything I can do to help you and your family, please do not hesitate to call my office at (517) 373-3920, or email me at LauriePohutsky@house.mi.gov. You can also catch me on Facebook.
Legislative Update
House Bill 5975 Passes the Senate
I am thrilled to announce that HB 5975, my bill to require trauma-informed training for lawyer guardians ad-litem (LGALs), has unanimously passed in the Senate. The children LGALs represent have often endured more trauma than most can fathom, so knowing how to navigate that is crucial to being able to advocate for them. This legislation is now headed to the governor’s desk!
Session
To see what the Legislature voted on during our most recent session days, please click here. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at (517) 373-3920 or lauriepohutsky@house.mi.gov.
Constituent Resources
Individual Income Tax Return Deadline
Taxpayers who requested an extension to file their individual income tax returns have less than a month to file a complete and accurate return, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury.
Individual income tax returns due under an extension must be received by the Treasury on or before Oct. 17, 2022. Returns can be sent through the U.S. Postal Service or e-filed.
For the convenience of taxpayers, the extension deadline is the same as the Internal Revenue Service.
Taxpayers who have yet to file their individual income tax returns should consider:
- Filing a return to claim an outstanding refund. Taxpayers risk losing their state income tax refund if they don’t file a return within four years from the due date of the original return. Go to www.michigan.gov/mifastfile to learn more about e-filing.
- Filing a return to minimize interest and penalties. File returns and pay now to limit interest charges and late payment penalties. An extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. Penalty and interest on the tax due are applicable from the original due date of the return until payment is received.
- Paying as much tax as possible. If taxpayers owe outstanding taxes and can’t pay in full, they should pay as much as they can when they file their tax returns. Payments can be made using Michigan’s e-payments service. When mailing checks, carefully follow tax form instructions. The Treasury will work with taxpayers who cannot pay the full amount of tax they owe.
Questions?
Taxpayers with questions about their state income taxes are encouraged to use Treasury eServices. The online platform enables taxpayers to ask state income tax-related questions when convenient and avoids the extended wait times for calls this time of year.
To get started with Treasury eServices, go to www.michigan.gov/incometax and click on “Access eServices.”
To learn more about the state Treasury Department, go to Michigan.gov/Treasury or follow @MiTreasury on Twitter.
Events
Coffee Hours
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I hope you can join me for one of my upcoming in-person and virtual coffee hours! I look forward to having an informal conversation with you about the issues families face in our community. In-person coffee hours are held at Coffee + Cream here in Livonia. You can join the livestream for my virtual coffee hours on my Facebook page. Please note that our virtual coffee hour on Monday, Oct. 17, will start at 5 p.m., and that our first Sunday of the month in-person coffee hour has been canceled for November.
Virtual: Monday, Oct. 17, from 5-6 p.m.
Virtual: Monday, Nov. 21, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Never hesitate to reach out to me or my staff if you have any questions or concerns!
Sincerely,
Laurie Pohutsky
State Representative
19th House District