Tax Fixes for Minnesotans
Local business owners and workers forced onto unemployment have faced plenty of financial difficulties this past year, and should not be forced to pay more in state taxes.
House Republicans tried to ease their fears this week, attempting to approve legislation that would exempt forgiven business owner Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan income from state taxes, as well as Unemployment Insurance tax elimination for COVID-19. Unfortunately, the Minnesota House majority refused to allow either bill to receive a floor debate, as all House Democrats unanimously opposed both measures.
These are common sense measures have broad bipartisan support, the unfortunate reality is the House Majority wants to use these important issues as leverage for end of session negotiations with the Senate.
Impacted business owners who accepted PPP loans had to use those funds for business expenses, such as employee wages or rent, which is why Congress ultimately forgave the loans and made them free from federal taxation. The Minnesota Senate recently approved the state PPP Tax relief proposal on a bipartisan, and veto-proof vote of 55 -12.
Employees who were laid off due to COVID-19 also would have received relief, as the proposed House legislation would have exempted $10,200 in Unemployment Insurance income, the same exempted by the federal government — making no other underlying changes to Minnesota unemployment insurance law.
With a significant state surplus, there is no reason to force our struggling business owners and workers laid off during the last year to pay these unexpected tax burdens. We should be acting quickly in order to give them some peace of mind as the surplus is largely made up from one time revenue, so it makes sense to use it on one time tax relief.
|
