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State Representative Tom Hackbarth
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-2439
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS COLUMN
RAISING TAXES ON TAX DAY
By Tom Hackbarth
State Representative
With thousands of people gathering on the steps of the Capitol to protest the high rate of taxes on everything from their income, to things they purchase, and all of the other “fees” they pay, the Democrats in St. Paul were too afraid to come out and face the crowds. Instead they were bunkered down in a committee hearing room talking about what other taxes they can raise. What taxes did they come up with?
Well to start off they are talking about raising taxes on cigarettes even higher. They saw that the federal government recently raised taxes on cigarettes and decided they should do the same. They are trying to raise the state tax by $1 a pack! If that tax gets added on you would pay over $3.65 in taxes on each pack of cigarettes.
Of course they are not stopping with just tobacco taxes; they want to raise the tax on your alcohol too. There are actually two different proposals being heard on that issue. The smaller tax increase, of the two, would raise the price of a case of beer by $2. The other proposal would actually increase the price by close to $4 per case! So if you buy the beer for the baseball games this summer it’s going to cost you more.
They also want to raise your income taxes by a hefty amount. If you and your spouse both work and make more than $100,000 a year combined, or if you’re single and make more than $56,560 your tax rate would jump to 8%. Those are awfully low levels of income to be taxed at that high of a rate. Many union workers who have been in their job for 20 or more years would be hit by these higher taxes.
If raising your income taxes isn’t enough they want to put a tax on your income taxes! They call it a “tax surcharge” and it would hit all tax payers. If you make less than $30,000 a year you would pay a “tax surcharge” of 6%! More than $30,000 and less than $80,000 per year income earners would get taxed an extra 8%, and if you make more than $80,000 a year that rate would jump to 10%.
They’re also trying to take away the tax break they made last year when they raised the gas tax. This tax credit is for the poor in Minnesota and is supposed to help them cope with the increased gas tax. By taking this credit out they are raising taxes on the poor by $29.8 million next year alone. Apparently their new definition of “rich” is everyone.
The Democrats keep trying to tax you even more for the hard work you put in at your job. In the meantime they’re sitting around the Capitol collecting $77 every day tax free, on top of their salary. No wonder they don’t seem to be in a hurry to get anything done. They get to pad their pockets at your expense.
This talk on tax increases has to stop. Many of you came to the St. Paul on Tax Day to be heard. Thank you for standing up! But don’t let it stop there. Continue to make your voice heard to the Democrats that we cannot afford any more tax increases. We are stretched to the max already. We must keep the pressure on the Democrats and let them know they have got to cut government spending instead of raising taxes on the people that are already struggling.
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