While Michigan’s finances improved in 2023, it ranked 35th out of 50 states for its “taxpayer burden” in a recent analysis by Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit focused on highlighting government finances. Truth in Accounting’s fifteenth annual Financial State of the States grades states using an A-F grading scale, while providing perspective on finances through each state’s “taxpayer burden,” which is essentially the amount per taxpayer to pay off all of a state’s debt.
With $46.8 billion in available assets to pay bills, and more than $75 billion in bills, “the outcome was a $28.2 billion shortfall, which breaks down to a burden of $7,600 per taxpayer,” according to the report. The bulk of those bills involve more than $39 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
“Bottom line: Michigan would need $7,600 from each of its taxpayers to pay all of its outstanding bills and received a ‘D’ grade for its finances,” the report reads. “According to Truth in Accounting’s grading scale, any government with a Taxpayer Burden between $5,000 and $20,000 is given a ‘D’ grade.”
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