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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Sheldon Johnson

549 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
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Posted: 2012-03-16 00:00:00
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REPAYING SCHOOLS IN A FAIR AND FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY

This week, the Republicans passed a bill on the House Floor to continue a pattern of imprudent fiscal management by raiding the state’s just recently replenished reserve account.

The Republican majority's proposal drains down the state’s budget reserve and directs $430 million of it toward paying back the school shift (schools are owed $2.4 billion due to the budget passed in the special session). The Commissioner of Management and Budget indicated that raiding the reserves would put Minnesota at risk for future borrowing and leave our state on unstable financial footing. And this doesn’t take into consideration would happen if there was another economic downturn or natural disaster.

Democrats, in contrast, have proposed a permanent solution to fully paying back our schools by closing corporate tax loopholes for companies that park money overseas to avoid paying taxes in Minnesota. Instead of using one-time money that is only a drop in the bucket of what is owed, the DFL plan pays back school kids by making corporations play by the same rules as our Main Street businesses.

It is a simple matter of priorities. Closing corporate tax loopholes that let companies’ shelter money overseas in places like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands to pay back the entire amount we owe our school kids is my priority. Unfortunately, the Republican majority opposed this fair and responsible approach today on the House Floor.

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