ANN ARBOR ? Ann Arbor venture capitalist Rick Snyder, who is the Republican gubernatorial candidate, says he understands entrepreneurs and wants to transform Michigan into a more entrepreneur friendly state.

But what specifically does Snyder mean?

Snyder said he would eliminate the Michigan Business Tax and replace it with a 6-percent profits tax on companies that file federal corporate tax returns that would generate $1.5 billion less in annual revenue for a state budget that is in structural deficit by about the same amount. Companies that don’t file a federal corporate statement, partnerships and small businesses, which currently pay a 1.8 percent tax on income would be exempt from state taxes under his plan.

Snyder said lowering or eliminating taxes is the best way to create jobs, and he criticized existing economic development efforts that seek to attract firms with tax breaks.

He would change the state regulatory environment. He would shorten the waiting period for permits. If the state does not respond in a reasonable amount of time, the business person gets his or her permit automatically.

“The average person is good and honest and the state needs to help them succeed and not hold them back,” Snyder said.

The state needs to review the way the Michigan Economic Development Corp. operates, he said.

“We need to move away from the state picking winners and losers. We need to get out of trying to get big out-of-state companies to move to Michigan.”

More money needs to be spent on economic gardening, he said. Michiganders need to grow small businesses with state help.

“The MEDC needs to get back to its core,” said Snyder who was once chairman of the MEDC. “It needs to become business professionals treating businesses as customers.”

Snyder said the MEDC could play a greater role in promoting best practices in the state and in connecting businesses to regional accelerators and incubators, such as Ann Arbor SPARK, the Right Place Program in Grand Rapids and Automation Alley in Oakland County.

More importantly, the regional accelerators and incubators should not be saying negative things about other areas of the state.

“Instead of selling why its region is the best place to do business, these groups get say negative things about other parts of the state,” he said.

He also said it would be great if the Michigan legislature would restore funding for pre-seed funds. He criticized the 21st century jobs fund ? created from the tobacco settlement by former Gov. John Engler ? as giving out money inefficiently.

“Pre-seed funds are better because they are matching funds,” Snyder said. “The companies get private funding first and then that funding is matched by government. That’s the kind of effort we should be doing. It should be a partnership model. It shouldn’t be government making business decisions.”

He also said the microloan program ? which could be a few thousand dollars given to help start a small retail business ? should be expanded to help far more entrepreneurs.

Snyder, who helped create Ann Arbor SPARK, said the state could learn from the SPARK model and create a talent pool that would be supported by all the regions across the state. There are lots of talented people in Michigan that a talent pool could help land jobs, he said. Bigger companies also should be encouraged to do more to become the first customer for a new business just starting out.

“Getting that first customer is critical,” he said.

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