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Today is Michigan’s Tax Freedom Day. It’s the day when the average Michigander will have earned enough money to pay their local, state and federal taxes for the year.  That’s three weeks earlier than it used to be mainly because people are earning less money because of the recession. 

Kail Padgitt is with the Tax Foundation, which produces the annual Tax Freedom Day list. He says Michigan’s local and state taxes are higher than most other states.

 “But when we look at federal taxes…Michigan actually paid  a little less in federal taxes due to the (state’s) high unemployment...leading to lower income taxes …federal income taxes.”

Padgitt says as the nation’s economy improves, special federal tax breaks expire and more Michiganders find work, Michigan’s tax freedom day will shift back to the end of April or maybe the beginning of May.

Detroit home prices continue to slump. New data from Clear Capital show the average sale price in the first three months of the year for a home in Detroit was roughly 60,000 dollars. 

Alex Villacorta is an analyst with Clear Capital. He says foreclosed homes continue to clog Detroit’s housing market, depressing sale prices. 

“Once those saturation rates come down I do think you’ll see prices start to stabilize a little bit.   Even if the overall health improves we’ll see may a more sustained price growth looking forward.”

Home sale prices held steady in most of the nation in the first quarter of 2011, except in the western U.S. where home sale prices fell to levels not seen since 2001.

Gasoline prices in Michigan continue to edge closer to $4 a gallon. Rising prices are affecting retailers along with customers. Consumers are taking a double hit,  prices are rising at the pump and increasing fuel costs are expected to boost food prices by 3 to 4 percent this year, with the biggest increases in meat, dairy and coffee. 

Many of Meijer’s 101 stores in Michigan have company gas stations sitting in front. Frank Guglielmi is a Meijer’s spokesman. He says as gas prices rise the retailer is seeing customer buying patterns change. 

 "The more money they have to spend on fuel for their vehicles, the less they have potentially spend on groceries or general merchandize in a Meijer store.”

Guglielmi says Michigan consumers have become a “battle hardened” group" as a result of the double punch of recession and high gasoline prices in recent years. 

The price of fuel is expected to continue to rise through Memorial Day.

A report in the Wall Street Journal suggested Borders plans to move its headquarters from Ann Arbor. But company spokeswoman Mary Davis insists no final decision has been made.   

"We are looking at a number of options all around the greater metropolitan Detroit area including Ann Arbor. News reports are making it sound like the decision is final and we are moving out of Ann Arbor. That is not the case."   

The Wall Street Journal reported late last night that Borders will outline its future plans to a group of its creditors today. Part of those plans involves moving out of the company's Ann Arbor headquarters. The company has said the building no longer serves Borders needs. Borders issued a statement saying the company will look for a new facility in metro Detroit.  

Borders filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Since then, Borders moved to close more than 200 bookstores, including four in Michigan. Borders hopes to exit bankruptcy protection later this year, possibly in late summer or early fall.  

Borders, once a leader in the nation's book selling industry, has struggled in recent years as book buyers have moved online.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Borders Group Inc. will move its headquarters from Ann Arbor to the Detroit metro area. The company is currently operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. From the Journal:

Borders Group Inc. plans to tell publishers and landlords Wednesday it has achieved major cost savings, including more than $30 million in rent reductions, and that it will move out of its Ann Arbor, Mich., headquarters for cheaper office space in the greater Detroit metro area.

Presenting its business plan to an unsecured creditors committee, predominantly made up of publishers and landlords, Borders also plans to say it has now closed about 50 superstores as part of efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. Altogether, Borders will close 226 by the end of next month, although a handful of additional stores could be closed, depending on negotiations with landlords, the people said.

News organizations around the state were quick to pick up the report:

• The Detroit Free Press: Report: Borders HQ to leave Ann Arbor
• The Detroit News: Report: Borders eyes HQ move to Metro Detroit
• The Ann Arbor Chronicle: A2  Business
• AnnArbor.com: Wall Street Journal: Borders plans to move headquarters out of Ann Arbor
  

Michigan’s jobs picture is getting brighter, according to a new report out of the University of Michigan. University of Michigan economists say the state is starting 2011 with “robust job growth."  

Michigan spent much of the past decade watching its job numbers decline. But after some gains in 2010, U of M economists credit a bounce in manufacturing with getting the state off to a great start this year. The job growth rate is on pace to increase by 3.8% this year.     

The economists say Michigan has posted a stronger recovery rate than the rest of the nation during the past year and a half. However, that may not last. 

The U of M economists predict Michigan’s job growth will cool off, but still the economists predict the state could add 64,000 jobs this year.