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Issue record

Costs, taxes and jobs

In short

McCann's campaign puts lower costs first, backing working-family tax cuts and higher taxes on corporations and the top 1%. Huizenga's campaign blames spending for inflation and backs fewer small business rules. Barnett's campaign backs good-paying jobs, small business help and lower costs. McCann voted for a 2023 state law raising the earned income tax credit and widening a pension deduction; Huizenga's small business broker bill became law in a 2022 spending act he voted against.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Sean McCann

He says lowering everyday costs is his top priority. He wants tax cuts for working families, higher taxes on corporations and the top 1%, and limits on corporate buyers of homes. He blames tariffs for rising prices.

Bill Huizenga

He says spending drives inflation and he has pushed for fiscal discipline. He wants fewer regulations and more access to capital for small businesses.

Shafina Che Barnett

She says she wants good-paying jobs, help for small business owners and lower everyday costs for working families.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. official action

    Sean McCann: Matches stated record claim

    He voted for the 2023 law that raised the state earned income tax credit to 30% of the federal credit and, by 2026, let anyone deduct pension income up to a cap.

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    Full detail

    He says the Legislature expanded the working families tax cut and ended the retirement tax. He voted for the final version of House Bill 4001 on February 16, 2023, when the Senate adopted it 20-17. As Public Act 4 of 2023, it raised Michigan's earned income tax credit from 6% to 30% of the federal credit from the 2023 tax year. By the 2026 tax year it phased out the 2011 limits that tied the pension deduction to a taxpayer's birth year. From 2026 anyone can deduct pension income up to a set cap. Limit: He says "we": he was one of 20 senators voting for it, not its sponsor. The change phased in over four years, and pension income above the cap is still taxed.

  2. official action

    Bill Huizenga: Matches stated record claim

    He sponsored a bill exempting brokers who help sell small businesses from SEC registration, and its text became law in a 2022 spending act he voted against.

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    Full detail

    His campaign says he authored and passed legislation to help the next generation of small business owners. He sponsored H.R. 935, which exempts brokers who help sell privately held small businesses from SEC broker registration. It passed the House 419-0 on May 11, 2022. The same text, under his bill's name, became law as Title V of Division AA of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, signed December 29, 2022. Limit: The campaign does not name the bill; this is the one of his that became law and fits the claim. He voted against the spending act that carried it (roll 549, December 23, 2022). Whether it helped new owners buy businesses is not something the record shows.

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Sources12 source records

How we use sources

  1. Sean's Plan for Michiganhttps://seanmccannforcongress.com/issues/

    Sean McCann for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. His issue positions and the claims about his own legislative record that the cards test. The page carries no date.

    candidate statement

    For: Sean McCann: campaign position; Sean McCann: Matches stated record claim

  2. Sean McCann releases plan to cut taxes and lower costs for Michigan familieshttps://seanmccannforcongress.com/sean-mccann-releases-plan-to-cut-taxes-and-lower-costs-for-michigan-families/

    Sean McCann for Congress · Published Jul 27, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign press release with his cost-of-living plan.

    candidate statement

    For: Sean McCann: campaign position

  3. Issueshttps://huizengaformichigan.com/issues/

    Huizenga for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source: five issue sections. The page carries no date.

    candidate statement

    For: Bill Huizenga: campaign position

  4. Shafina Barnett for Congress 4th District, home pagehttps://www.shafinabarnettforcongress4thdistrict.com/

    Shafina Barnett for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Her campaign site, linked from the Green Party's page for her. It lists four priorities. It carries no paid-for line, its other pages are empty or hold website-template text, and it names places in Macomb County, outside the 4th District.

    candidate statement

    For: Shafina Che Barnett: campaign position

  5. Journal of the Senate, February 16, 2023 (No. 17) (document)

    Michigan Senate · Published Feb 16, 2023 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Roll call 22, adopting the conference report on House Bill 4001.

    official legislative record

    For: Sean McCann: Matches stated record claim

  6. House Bill 4001 of 2023 (Public Act 4 of 2023)https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2023-HB-4001

    Michigan Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Bill history: the Senate adopted the conference report February 16, 2023 (roll call 22, 20-17); signed March 7, 2023.

    official legislative record

    For: Sean McCann: Matches stated record claim

  7. Public Act 4 of 2023 (document)

    Michigan Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    The enacted text: the state earned income tax credit rises from 6% to 30% of the federal credit from 2023. Sec. 30(10) phases out the 2011 birth-year limits on the pension deduction over 2023-2025; from the 2026 tax year anyone may deduct pension income, but public and private pensions alike are capped at the subsection (1)(f)(iv) maximum (42,240 dollars single, 84,480 joint, indexed from 2007).

    official legislative record

    For: Sean McCann: Matches stated record claim

  8. Meet Billhttps://huizengaformichigan.com/about/

    Huizenga for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source: biography and the claims about his record that the cards test. The page carries no date.

    candidate statement

    For: Bill Huizenga: Matches stated record claim

  9. H.R. 935 (117th): Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2021https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/935

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsor: Huizenga. Passed the House May 11, 2022, 419-0 (roll 158); referred to the Senate Banking Committee, where it stopped. He had introduced versions of it since 2013.

    official legislative record

    For: Bill Huizenga: Matches stated record claim

  10. House roll call 158 of 2022, H.R. 935https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022158

    Clerk of the U.S. House · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, May 11, 2022: 419-0. Huizenga: Yea.

    official legislative record

    For: Bill Huizenga: Matches stated record claim

  11. Public Law 117-328, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-117publ328/html/PLAW-117publ328.htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Enacted December 29, 2022. Division AA, Title V carries the name of his bill and, in section 501, the same new paragraph (13) of section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, in the same words as the House-passed H.R. 935.

    official legislative record

    For: Bill Huizenga: Matches stated record claim

  12. House roll call 549 of 2022, H.R. 2617https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022549

    Clerk of the U.S. House · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Final House vote on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, December 23, 2022: 225-201. Huizenga: Nay.

    official legislative record

    For: Bill Huizenga: Matches stated record claim