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State Representative Bob Dettmer
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4124
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS COLUMN
A BALANCED BUDGET FOCUSED ON PRIORITIES
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
Last week Governor Pawlenty unveiled his proposal to balance the budget. Minnesota is required to have a balanced budget during every biennium. It’s a part of our state constitution that helps keep the state living like our families do.
This budget proposal is a very good one for a number of reasons. The first is that is does not raise taxes on families that are struggling. With the family budgets being squeezed right now the government should not add a further burden on them. We need to balance the state budget while at the same time doing our best to let families keep their money to do the same.
The second reason I like this proposal is because it focuses on education which is one of my top priorities. Being a teacher I understand the situation our schools are in. Part of the Governor’s plan is to give school districts and charter schools up to an additional 2 percent per student on the general education formula for students meeting standards or showing reasonable progress toward achievement. Just as families expect to see returns on their investments, tax payers should see returns as well.
A third reason this proposal is good is because it works to encourage job growth in our state. The Governor’s plan to retain and grow jobs in Minnesota includes a package of tax cuts and incentives. This includes reducing the business tax rate from 9.8 percent to 4.8 percent over six years, providing an upfront exemption of the sales tax for purchases of capital equipment, along with a new Reinvestment Tax Credit for small businesses that reinvest in assets such as machinery and equipment.
These incentives are necessary to make Minnesota a competitive place to do business. According to recent reports Minnesota is the third worst place in the world to have your business located. We can turn that around with these incentives and create more jobs in our state.
While this budget has been proposed the Legislature will hold committee hearings on it and will debate it for the coming months. During this time I encourage you to continue to contact me with your ideas on how to solve the budget deficit and any other legislative issue. You can contact me via email at rep.bob.dettmer@house.mn via phone at 651-296-4124. U.S. Mail can be sent to 251 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
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