Democrats finally unveiled their omnibus budget bills. Not only is this late in the session to finally have these bills together, they also have included provisions in many of the bills that never were heard in committee. Unsurprisingly, the bills include numerous tax increases that will prove harmful to Minnesotans and our economy that is finally looking to recover after the shutdowns of the last year.
In total, the tax bill alone bill raises taxes by more than $1 billion and fails to fully protect businesses from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) tax hikes on forgiven loans. All of the states around us in the Upper Midwest have already done tax conformity. We don’t live in a vacuum, this will increase the migration of businesses out of Minnesota.
The bulk of the tax revenue comes from a brand-new 5th tier income tax of 11.15%, like the Governor's plan, which would give Minnesota the 2nd highest top income tax rate in the country and directly impact many businesses who have been hit hard during the pandemic. We cannot keep giving people a reason to leave our state.
On top of this, Democrats are seeking even more tax revenue through their Transportation Omnibus bill including a new gas tax and light rail tax. In fact, their transportation bill raises more than $1.5 billion in tax and fee hikes.
Minnesota has a $1.6 billion surplus and billions more coming from the federal government. We don't need to be raising taxes on businesses and families, and slowing down our economic recovery after what has been an incredibly difficult year. Democrats continue to block action on full PPP and unemployment relief as they plan on holding those issues hostage as they push for more than $1 billion in unnecessary tax increases. It is truly shameful.
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