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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
YOUR WALLETS ARE SAFE ONCE AGAIN
By Tom Hackbarth
State Representative
As I have often said the only time your wallets are safe is when the Legislature is not in session. I am happy to say that your wallets are once again safe. The Legislature has adjourned the 2009 session. We were able to stand strong with Governor Pawlenty to once again defeat tax increasing proposals from becoming law.
We were able to prevent several tax increases the Democrats wanted to implement. They were going to raise your taxes by taking away the mortgage interest tax deduction. This deduction is what helps keep families in their homes. By making homes even less affordable we will be putting more weight on an already unstable housing market. It would put home ownership, which is a part of the American Dream, out of the reach of many Minnesotans. It would also make it harder for families that are growing in size and want to move to a bigger home, or those thinking about downsizing, to do so.
We were also able to prevent an income tax increase on all levels. One bill would have raised taxes on each and every Minnesota family that had an income. This tax would have hit those who make $30,000 or more at an unaffordable rate. We also prevented a new fourth tier bracket that would tax married couples that make over $250,000 a year at 9.2%. This would hurt small businesses dramatically. According to the Chamber of Commerce 92% of small businesses flow their income through a personal income tax return. Taxing them more would devastate small businesses and kill jobs.
The Democrats were so fixed on raising your taxes that even the last thing they did was pass a bill to do so. They brought forth a bill with just 30 minutes left in the session to raise taxes by over $1 billion. Many Republicans had no idea what was in the bill. We were given no opportunity to ask questions about it, or even to read what was included in it. The Democrats were so bent on getting it through they used parliamentary tactics to stop the debate and ram the bill through.
The Governor will veto this bill, just like he has promised to do on any bill that raises taxes. The unwillingness of the Democrats to come to the table is very disappointing. Instead of wanting to solve the budget deficit they wanted to raise taxes and delay paying the bills. Those options do not work for family budgets and they do not work for the state budget either.
To prove their unwillingness to balance the budget by cutting programs, the Democrats specially wrote into their legislation that similar programs carried out by government agencies, like the DNR, could not be combined. They flat out refused to reform how government works.
During these economic times and facing a $6.4 billion budget deficit we had a great opportunity to change away from politics as usual and come together for the betterment of our state. That will now have to wait until next year, when the state could still be facing a deficit.
But rest assured, fellow citizens, your wallets are safe from further tax increases. At least until February 2010, when the Legislature will come back into session.
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