Michigan's Earned Income Tax Credit will be expanded under a bill passed Thursday by the State Senate on a vote of 27-11.

The plan's sponsor Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet says it will lift more taxpayers out of poverty. But a number of Republicans voted no, saying they favor tax relief that would benefit all Michigan taxpayers.

The State Senate also approved a plan to eliminate the socalled retirement tax, on Michiganders who receive a pension.