The International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) has secured a lobbyist to work on the issue and is researching the impact the sales tax could have on Michigan logistics providers and users of those services. One central concern for those companies is that out-of-state users of logistics services will move their warehousing out of Michigan.
According to IWLA, the two options on the legislation are to have a “carve out” that excludes public warehousing or third-party logistics operations or to have the tax rescinded.
One logistics operator in Michigan commented that the warehousing element of the tax law was “literally added at the 11th hour” and the industry had no time to prepare or present comments.
A similar tax was enacted in Pennsylvania over 10 years ago with a like effect of including public warehousing. At that time, the IWLA and various industry members approached lawmakers with the prospect of lost business and jobs and were able to make a sufficient case to convince the Pennsylvania lawmakers to modify that law. At that time, industry members said lawmakers indicated a desire to tax the self-storage businesses, not commercial warehouses.
