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State Representative Patti Fritz
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8237
For more information contact: Jessica Nyman 651-296-8877
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Rep. Fritz: Where is the Relief for Homeowners and Farmers?
St. Paul, MN – On a party line vote, the House Majority passed HF 2337, which would make dramatic cuts to the Renters’ Credit Program in order to provide tax relief for businesses and corporations like Wal-Mart.
Despite property tax increases for Minnesota’s homeowners and farmers due to the elimination of the Market Value Homestead Credit last year, HF 2337 provides little to no relief for these Minnesotans. In fact, 99% of the property tax relief found in the bill is directed towards big business, with homeowners receiving just 1% of the relief. The bill includes no relief for farmers—the classification of property owners who faced the steepest rise in property taxes with Homestead Credit elimination.
Tax relief for corporations found in this bill is funded through a permanent annual cut to the Renters’ Credit of $70 million. As a result, nearly 300,000 Minnesotans will see a reduction or elimination of this refund. Of these 300,000 Minnesotans, approximately 87,000 are seniors or disabled renters living on fixed incomes and struggling to make ends meet.
Regarding passage of the bill, State Representative Patti Fritz offered the following remarks:
“I am disappointed to see that the majority has made tax relief for large corporations a stronger legislative priority than helping the countless folks in our district who saw skyrocketing property taxes.
“In our area of the state, homeowners saw an average property tax increase of 5%, with farmers seeing an increase of nearly 13%. This is unacceptable and we must do more to help the hardworking men and women in our community make ends meet.
“While I believe that we need to do more to help businesses in our community, our local economy will not grow stronger when we ask our seniors, disabled, students, and those living on fixed income to foot the bill for corporations."
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News Items
- STATE REP. PATTI FRITZ PARTICIPATES IN START OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 3:32PM)
- Rep. Fritz: Homeowners, Farmers Need Property Tax Relief - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
- Rep. Fritz: Let’s Vote on a Bonding Bill that Benefits All - (Posted: 2012-04-19 00:00:00)
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