Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake) released the following statement on the state budget forecast indicating a $2.4 billion surplus dulled by a looming $2.3 billion deficit beginning in 2025: 

“Today’s announcement of a short-term surplus followed by a deficit is incredibly alarming. Minnesota Democrats not only spent our previous $17.5 billion surplus, and did so in tandem with $10 billion in tax hikes, but created a long-term deficit that will continue to grow every year. Today’s news shows that those new tax increases weren’t enough to avoid a deficit. 

Meanwhile, inflation costs in Minnesota are currently above the national average and families are struggling to afford basic necessities.

Families were promised relief and lower taxes, yet they’ve gotten the complete opposite. Every Minnesota family will face higher taxes in 2025 on top of the inflationary increases they already see in housing, at the gas pumps and when they go to the grocery store.”