This column was originally published in the Northfield News.
Senate Republicans focused on cutting taxes
The state budget has risen about 30 percent in the last six years. I’m guessing your paycheck hasn’t gone up that much, and I’m guessing you don’t feel like you’re getting 30 percent more from your government than you were six years ago.
That’s because government’s priorities have been upside down: politicians have a long wish list of programs to spend money on, and if there isn’t enough, they ask you to pay more. That’s why spending has skyrocketed, and it’s why in recent years you’ve had to pay more for gas, sales, and income taxes – capped by Gov. Dayton’s record $2 billion tax increase four years ago.
Senate Republicans want to reverse this frustrating trend. Our primary goal is for you to keep more of your hard-earned money, which is why we recently passed the biggest tax relief bill in years. Our proposal will help 81 percent of Minnesotans, with a focus on low- and middle-income families.
The marquee provision of our tax bill is a cut of the lowest rate. This is the first time in 17 years that an income tax rate has been cut. Most of the benefit would go to families making between $50,000 and $125,000 per year; 2.1 million filers would benefit from this cut alone.
If Greater Minnesota is thriving, the rest of the state is usually thriving too. Our tax bill focuses a lot of relief on Greater Minnesota residents. We reduced the statewide business property tax, phased in full conformity to the estate tax – so you can pass down more of your property and money to your children – and incentivized growth in rural communities with a workforce housing tax credit.
Additionally, we heard from many farmers that they have been paying an inordinate amount for school district levies, which is why so many of them fail. So we created a new school building bonds agricultural credit that would make it easier for districts to pass important levies while sparing farmers from excessive burdens.
If you are retired, or planning to retire here, our plan saves you money by reducing income taxes on Social Security.
If you are a college graduate with a pile of student loan debt, our plan has a new student debt tax credit that will save you money when you file your tax returns.