Atlas Oil founder Sam Simon builds investment war chest from funky Birmingham digs, Page 12 AUGUST 15 - 21, 2016 ANDREW HARNIK/AP EVAN VUCCI/AP Hillary Clinton Donald Trump TAXES TAXES n Impose a 4 percent surcharge on n Reduce number of tax brackets from taxpayers making more than $5M per year. seven to three. n Eliminate tax “loopholes” for carried No biz consensus n Eliminate carried-interest “loophole.” interest, IRA funding and corporate inversion. Trump, Clinton unveil economic plans in metro Detroit to mixed reviews n Reduce the federal corporate income tax to 15 percent from 35 percent. n Reduce estate tax exemption to 2009 By Lindsay VanHulle Jennifer Granholm and James Blanchard, and Re- levels of $3.5M from $5.45M. Crain’s Detroit Business/Bridge Magazine publican William Milliken — are backing Demo- n Temporary moratorium on all new regulations from federal agencies. n Tax wealthy people of to-be-determined This year’s historic presidential election, starring cratic nominee Clinton. Sitting Republican Gov. value at least 30 percent in income tax. two of the most polarizing candidates in memory, Rick Snyder has declined to endorse Republican n 10 percent tax on oshore income to has taken on a populist tone as the major-party nominee Trump, though Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, At- n Impose exit tax on U.S. companies entice corporations to repatriate funds. candidates appeal to working- and middle-class torney General Bill Schuette and establishing a foreign tax domicile. Michigan Republi- n Repeal the estate tax. voters. can Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel n Undisclosed plan to lower tax compliance Yet business is paying attention to Donald have. TRADE burdens for small businesses. Trump’s and Hillary Clinton’s positions on jobs and Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Rom- n Repeal Trans-Pacic Partnership. TRADE the economy — particularly regarding corporate ney has said publicly he will not vote for either can- n Impose a 45 percent tari on imports taxation and global trade — since the outcome in didate. The West Michigan-based DeVos family, n Repeal Trans-Pacic Partnership. from China. November will determine the direction of some among the state’s top Republican donors, has not n Appoint chief trade ocer and triple business decisions. given money to Trump and has not donated to any n Enforce stronger intellectual property trade enforcement sta. Some Michigan political leaders already have candidate since the spring primaries, according to and cybersecurity measures against n Impose taris on countries that break the taken sides. Three former governors — Democrats SEE ELECTION, PAGE 16 China. rules of trade agreements. n Renegotiate NAFTA. ‘No more Band-Aids’: I-75’s $1 billion reconstruction project kicks o By Blake Froling ten to keep up productivity and mo- Further segments of the project are [email protected] rale. Others are dreading more prac- scheduled to continue into 2030. I-75 lane closings The massive $1 billion I-75 mod- tical problems, such as shipping or The years of congestion and con- ernization project set to begin this delivery. struction could inconvenience the When: Starting 9 a.m. Monday. week that may have commuters The first phase of the widening more than 100,000 people who use Where: I-75 north and south pulling their hair out has businesses and reconstruction project will kick the area’s main artery of transporta- between Coolidge Highway and getting ready for headaches, too. off at 9 a.m. Monday from Coolidge tion every day. South Boulevard. Some companies expect they’ll Highway to South Boulevard and The first of eight segments is be- Southbound right lane let some employees work flexible will eventually extend from Eight ing paid for with a two-year, $90.8 What: will be closed for shoulder improvements; northbound right lane will be schedules or telecommute more of- Mile Road to just south of M-59. million investment, 80 percent of intermittently closed for shoulder improvements. which comes from the Federal High- Shoulders are being improved for future trac shis to allow © Entire contents copyright 2016 way Administration. Why: by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Construction is starting by the reconstruction work on the highway and modernization of the Square Lake crainsdetroit.com Vol. 32 No 33 $2 a copy. $59 a year. Square Lake Road interchange be- Road interchange. First will occur in mid-September, moving the northbound cause it is one of the most danger- lanes to the southbound side until mid-December; southbound lanes will ous on I-75, resulting in about 600 move to northbound side in spring 2017 until November 2017. accidents during a five-year study by the Michigan Department of Trans- The northbound I-75 bridges and four will be newly built over the portation. The interchange will be over Adams Road and Square Lake course of the project. reconfigured so that all entrances Roads will be replaced, as well as the “There’s no more Band-Aids, NEWSPAPER and exits will be on the right side in- Squirrel Road overpass above I-75. folks. There’s nothing more we can stead of the left. In total, 47 bridges will be replaced SEE I-75, PAGE 17 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // AUGUST 15, 2016 MICH-CELLANEOUS state’s largest provider of measure- MICHIGAN n Virginia Tech researchers who ment products and services, has ac- INSIDE exposed the lead problem in Flint quired the Michigan operations of THIS ISSUE BANKRUPTCIES ................................18 say the city’s water quality has greatly West Virginia-based Kanawha Scales CLASSIFIED ADS ...............................15 improved, based on tests at 162 and Systems, MLive.com reported. DEALS & DETAILS .............................14 homes, AP reported. Researchers n The Michigan Agency for Energy KEITH CRAIN.......................................6 said last week that 45 percent of and Michigan Public Service Commis- OPINION ..............................................6 homes tested in July showed no de- sion sent a letter to the Midwest’s OTHER VOICES ...................................6 BRIEFS tectable levels of lead. The head of electricity transmission operator, PEOPLE ...............................................14 Water lter copies keep lawsuits say the patent, and others the team, Marc Edwards, said the sit- Midcontinent Independent System RUMBLINGS .......................................19 Whirlpool lawsuits owing asserted in some of the cases, are in- uation is “dramatically better” than Operator, to determine how vulnera- WEEK ON THE WEB ..........................19 valid or weren’t infringed. last year when he sounded the alarm ble Michigan is to power outages in One replacement part — a $50 over lead due to a lack of corrosion emergency situations. They are ask- refrigerator water filter — has been Diners get charge out of controls. Edwards said Flint resi- ing for a study looking at the effects COMPANY INDEX: the subject of some 40 lawsuits filed dents should continue to keep filters of decommissioning some coal- SEE PAGE 18 by Benton Township-based appli- under-the-table device on their kitchen taps or use bottled fired generation units and possible ance maker Whirlpool Corp. Accord- A Grand Rapids restaurant, Kitch- water until officials say unfiltered future outages at state nuclear ener- Schuette wants the appeals court to ing to a Bloomberg report, the com- en 67: An American Bistro, is the first water is OK. Meanwhile, the Battle gy facilities on electric reliability. suspend an injunction issued by a pany has used a Texas court, known in the Midwest to try out next-gen- Creek-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation n The state announced that par- Detroit federal judge, who said the as the venue of choice for people eration wireless charging technol- is giving $7.1 million to Flint non- ents will be able to make child sup- ban violates the rights of black voters. trying to win patent cases, to sue re- ogy developed by Grand Rap- profits and organizations support- port payments at thousands of n A Michigan State University pro- tailers that sell knockoff filters for ids-based Gill Electronics. Kitchen ing efforts to recover from the crisis. 7-Eleven or Family Dollar stores gram is turning storm-damaged and half the price of Whirlpool’s. 67 is one of a handful of eateries n Midland-based Chemical Fi- throughout the country. Customers other felled campus trees into tables, Since last September, after Whirl- nationally to offer customers wire- nancial Corp.’s $1.4 billion acquisi- will pay a $1.99 fee and must have chairs, picture frames and works of pool noticed a sudden emergence less tabletop charging for phones tion of Troy-based Talmer Bancorp access to a computer or smart- art, AP reported. Officials said the of the non-Whirlpool filters in 2015, and tablets, MLive.com reported. Inc. will head to a close this fall after phone before going to a store to “MSU Shadows” program provides a it has been filing patent-infringe- State-of-the-art resonant TesLink securing approval last week from make the payment, AP reported. In- sustainable alternative to turning ment lawsuits in Texas, claiming wireless charging stations were re- the Federal Reserve Board, MiBiz re- structions are at www.misdu.com. trees into wood chips or putting de- companies are selling unauthorized cently installed by Gill at the restau- ported. The deal would create the n In a filing last week, Michigan bris in a landfill. The items are sold at replacement parts for its refrigera- rant. The devices, placed under- largest bank headquartered in Attorney General Bill Schuette urged the surplus store on campus and on- tors — including the water filter car- neath seven booth tables, let Michigan, with $16 billion in assets. a federal appeals court to restore the line, with proceeds going toward tridges. By suing retailers, Whirlpool customers set their phones or tab- n Grand Rapids-based Advance state’s ban on straight-party voting in planting new trees, supporting stu- is borrowing a tactic from computer lets anywhere on the table, for in- Packaging Corp.