GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Republican Governors Association is crying foul, accusing Democrats of not checking the facts before their latest ad in Michigan’s race for governor.
The ad, called ‘Seniors’, features former teacher, Rocky Gonet, who slams Gov. Snyder for giving tax breaks to businesses, while hitting retirees with a pension tax. Gonet then claims he’s scrambling to make ends meet.
That’s where the RGA has a problem, because according to the group, Gonet’s household income is more than $120,000.
Gonet blames the problem on legislation passed in 2011, which removed most tax exemptions on pension income and eliminated the homestead property tax credit.
As part of the overhaul, the Michigan Business Tax was replaced with a 6-percent tax on the profits of thousands of companies doing business in Michigan.
The RGA estimates Gonet is receiving an annual pension of $42,000. That number was reached using a pension estimate calculator found on the Office of Retirement Services webpage.
It’s based on Gonet’s years of service and that he was making more than $85,000 as a teacher in the Ann Arbor school district.
Back in 2006, through a freedom of information request, the Ann Arbor News also found Gonet’s wife, Marcia Schaffer, was also making $83,000 as a teacher in the same school district.
The RGA also points to real estate online database, Zillow, which estimates Gonet’s home is valued at more than $716,000.
Sabrina Singh, with the Democratic Governors Association, made the following statement to FOX 17:
“Rick Snyder’s Republican hatchet men may think it’s OK to release satellite photos of a senior citizen’s private home for speaking out against his anti-middle class policies, but it’s not. Snyder raised seniors’ property taxes and taxes on retirement to give tax cuts to businesses, even if they ship jobs overseas. He’ll be punished for it by voters in November.”
