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Minnesota House of Representatives

State Representative Joe Hoppe

343 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5066

For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640

Posted: 2007-03-16 00:00:00
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NEWS COLUMN

A MORE REASONABLE BUDGET PROPOSAL

Friends and Neighbors,

If you saw Sunday's Star Tribune article on proposed tax increases in
the Legislature, you might have been as shocked as I was to see that the
grand total comes to $2.5 billion worth of potential increases. That
would be on top of the $2.1 billion budget surplus, which itself is a
result of over-taxation.

Obviously, I do not think we need to raise taxes by $2.5 billion. In
fact, I think the government can live within the potential new spending
offered by the $2.1 billion surplus and the current $31.5 billion state
budget. Half of the surplus is only available this year, so that should
be used as property tax relief. The other $1.1 billion can be put
towards education, health care, transportation and the rest of our
priorities. That's a grand total of $32.6 billion for government
spending ($31.5b current spending + $1.1b new spending) without tax
increases.

Republicans have put forward a plan that meets the $32.6 billion budget
target while providing record increases for education, major health care
reforms and fiscal responsibility across the board. It does not raise
taxes, and in fact it reduces them for property owners and lowers income
tax rates.

We often hear people say there is no difference anymore between
Republicans and Democrats. But look at what we've seen so far this
year. Democrats have proposed $2.5 billion in tax increases and here we
are, halfway through March, and they still have no budget plan.
Meanwhile, Republicans proposed substantial tax relief and have a
detailed budget plan that makes use of the $2.1 billion budget surplus
without raising taxes. I think the difference is quite clear.

What do you think? Very soon you should be receiving my 2007
legislative survey in your mailbox. I encourage you to fill out the
questions and send your responses back to me. Later this spring I'll
announce the results so you can see where your opinion lines up with the
rest of those who responded.

Thanks for your time!
Sincerely,

Joe

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