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State Representative Joe Atkins

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For more information contact: Chris Shields 651-296-8873

Posted: 2007-01-26 00:00:00
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ATKINS PRAISES COLLEAGUES FOR PASSING $20 MILLION IN TAX RELIEF

ST. PAUL - State Representative Joe Atkins, a key member of the House Taxes Committee, praised his fellow legislators in the Minnesota House for unanimously passing bipartisan legislation to provide more than $20 million in tax relief for Minnesotans.

"Minnesota is a great place to live; and this bill sends relief to people who help keep it that way," said Atkins, who worked for the bill's passage in the Taxes Committee.

The tax relief lines Minnesota's state tax system with new federal benefits by providing:

· Deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses. Allows low- and middle-income taxpayers to deduct up to $4,000 of higher education tuition and related expenses. It is an extension of a provision that Minnesota has already adopted for previous tax years. In 2004, over 111,000 Minnesota returns claimed this deduction.

· Deduction for classroom teacher expenses. Extends the allowance of the $250 above-the-line deduction for K-12 educators of the amount paid for books and supplies for their classrooms. Again, this is a provision that Minnesota has adopted for prior years. In 2004, over 53,000 Minnesota returns claimed this deduction.

· Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act. This provision allows tax-exempt combat pay to be used as a basis for making IRA contributions. Without this provision, members of the military (including the National Guard) who are deployed to combat zones and have little earned income other than their combat pay will be required to track earnings on their IRAs separately for state and federal purposes.

The bill was the first to be passed in the House this session. Atkins said it was critical to get this bill passed early in the session.

"People already have their W-2s and are beginning to file their taxes," added Atkins. "If we didn't pass this early on, many Minnesotans would've lost out on tax benefits to which they are legally entitled."

The bill already carries bipartisan support with the Governor already pledging to sign it and the Senate recently passing it.

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