Fact check: What Jocelyn Benson really said about Trump’s tax bill
This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan (bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free Bridge Michigan newsletter here
- Pro-John James ads claim Jocelyn Benson backed tax hikes for working families, citing her opposition to Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ law
- The Michigan Democratic gubernatorial hopeful said she opposed the law because of cuts to Medicaid and food stamps
- James backed the law, which extended 2017 tax cuts and created some new ones
Ads produced by groups supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate John James claim Democratic rival Jocelyn Benson supported a $3,000 tax hike on working-class families.
There’s no evidence to suggest Benson has directly supported that kind of tax hike. But she publicly opposed President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which extended 2017 tax breaks that were set to expire.
As secretary of state, Benson had no ability to vote on the law but said she opposed it because it reduced federal spending on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps.
James voted for and has touted the law.
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Claims Benson supported tax hikes on working-class families are among many that Bridge Michigan is fact checking ahead of the Nov. 3 election, including claims that James voted to give tax breaks to data centers. The winner of the gubernatorial election will succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited.
The claims
A television ad by the Republican Governor’s Association claimed Benson “supported a massive $3,000 tax hike on working families.” An online ad by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group, made the same claim.
The fine print in both ads points to an August 2025 podcast appearance by Benson and an analysis of the “big, beautiful bill” from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan group that analyzes tax policy.
On the podcast, Benson said the “big, beautiful bill” is “devastating communities in our state” by cutting social safety net programs “just to hand tax breaks to (the) wealthiest in our economy.”
She did not say she opposed extending tax breaks for working families, and she could not vote on federal policy. But if Congress hadn’t extended prior tax cuts, it would have resulted in a tax increase for Michiganders.
The Tax Foundation analysis cited in the ad projected that Michigan taxpayers would save an average of about $3,000 in 2027 because of the law, savings that would dip to $2,400 by 2030 and increase again to $2,900 in 2035.
The analysis found Oakland County would see the largest savings — an average tax cut of $5,081 per taxpayer — while some rural areas like Clare County would see average tax savings of about $2,000.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the “big, beautiful” law would benefit most households, but wealthy taxpayers would see the most benefit, while some low-income households could see a net loss.
That’s because lawmakers partially paid for the tax cuts through provisions projected to reduce future SNAP spending by an estimated $285 billion over the next decade, and reduce future Medicaid spending by about $900 billion over the same period.
Neither Americans for Prosperity, nor the Republican Governor’s Association responded to questions about the ads. The James campaign did not respond to a request for comment either.
What Benson has said about taxes
If elected governor, Benson has proposed creating a $5,000 tax credit for long-term caregivers and additional relief for parents paying for childcare.
She’s also said she would seek to close “loopholes” in Michigan’s tax code and evaluate how the state is generating revenue. In a Tuesday debate with James, she said that could include applying state fuel taxes to private plane fuel.
In a May 2025 podcast appearance, Benson called the Michigan state income tax “very low” and said the Michigan tax code needed to be reexamined. But she didn’t propose any specific tax hike.
“Jocelyn has been clear since day one: she is running for governor to lower Michiganders’ costs. That’s why she has repeatedly pledged to not raise taxes on middle-class Michiganders and called for passing tax credits to help struggling families pay for childcare, homecare, and buy their first home,” said Benson campaign spokesperson Rajan Srinivasan.
Bottom line
Benson did not directly support a tax hike on working-class families. She publicly opposed the “big, beautiful bill” because it cut federal spending on programs like Medicaid and SNAP to help pay for tax breaks. She was not in Congress to vote on the law or any other federal tax policy.
This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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