Two years in the making, $259 million tax bill gets initial conference committee OK

Hundreds of Minnesota income tax filers could soon be receiving a letter from the Department of Revenue letting them know they may be owed a refund. Tucked into the omnibus tax bill, HF848, are provisions totaling approximately $50 million over the current and next biennium to conform Minnesota’s individual income tax and corporate taxes to some of the federal changes enacted since Dec. 31, 2014.

Two years in the making, the omnibus tax bill, sponsored by Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston) and Sen. Rod Skoe (DFL-Clearbrook), received preliminary approval from the conference committee Friday, and once conferees sign off on the measure (expected on Saturday), it will move to the House Floor for consideration.

The finished product would provide nearly $258.53 million in tax relief in the 2016-2017 biennium and more than $544 million in the subsequent two years. This is substantially down from last year’s $2 billion proposal.

Ever the optimist, Davids said that he’s not disappointed in the come-down, and that the bill will provide a substantial amount of tax relief. Reflecting on the spending target he received from leadership today, he said, “I play with the cards I’m dealt. … If you would have told me five months ago that we’d be able to have this number of provisions, I’d have been shocked.”

He highlighted several of bill’s provisions:

• first-in-the-nation student loan tax credit;
• expansion of the child care tax credit;
• tax deductions and credits for families contributing to 529 Savings Plans;
• expansion of the working family tax credit;
• expansion of tax credits for some veterans;
• a school building bond agricultural credit; and
• phase out of the state general levy (applies to commercial and seasonal properties).

“This is somewhat of a historic bill,” said Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL-Winona), who was serving his first ever stint on a taxes conference committee. “There are some significant reductions in taxes. We have targeted resources very economically here, and I think the bill does a very good job of saying ‘when we have resources, we can reduce taxes.’ We can focus those resources in a way that hopefully will continue to improve Minnesota’s economy.”

The bill also includes several onetime grants to communities including $1.2 million to the City of Madelia, which experienced a fire that devastated several Main Street buildings.

The bill also reduces cigarette excise taxes and expands the Superbowl Admission sales tax exemption.