Accessibility menu
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
FAMILY BUDGETS ARE ALREADY STRETCHED
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
Over the weekend the House and the Senate voted to raise taxes on all Minnesotans. These tax increases are coming at a time when record numbers of Minnesotans are facing unemployment, others are having their paychecks reduced, and many more are worried about losing their jobs. These tax increases will only work to further stretch the budgets of our families and add more stress to an already stressful time.
The federal government recently gave a tax cut to let people keep approximately an extra $13 with every paycheck. The Minnesota Legislature now wants to take most of that away by increasing taxes, starting with your income. No matter how much money you make, the tax rate on your income will jump by at least 0.65%. A married couple making $33,220 or less a year would now give 6% of their income to the state. For middle income families, those making between $33,200 and $131,970 a year, the state will take 7.7% of your income. There will also be income tax hikes, at two different levels, for those making over $131,970 a year.
On top of raising your income taxes they are going to take away the income tax deductions that many of us utilize. One deduction they want to take away is the mortgage interest deduction. This will hit every homeowner. This would put homeowners that are already struggling even further behind. It will destabilize the housing market even more.
They also want to take away the tax deduction on school supplies for our children. The K-12 Education tax deduction is used to buy supplies like pencils, erasers, backpacks and more, which every student needs. For those children not yet old enough for school you would lose your deduction on child care expenses.
Charitable donations to places like your local church or to your favorite nonprofit organization would also no longer qualify for tax deductions. All of these would increase your tax liability and force you to pay more.
They want to raise the “sin taxes” even higher. Their plan is to double the tax on beer, just in time for the summer barbecues. They also want to bring the total tax on a pack of cigarettes to $3.20.
But that’s not all they want to raise taxes on. They’re also going to give counties the option to raise the sales tax. They’re going to tax downloads from iTunes. They’ll tax boats, snowmobiles and ATV’s as well. They’ll tax people for giving or receiving gifts. And the list goes on.
Just to highlight all the tax increases one more time:
Income Tax: $469.5 million income tax increase
Cigarette Tax: $210 million tax increase
Alcohol Taxes: $209.4 million tax increase
Boats, ATVs & Snowmobiles: $10.5 million tax increase
iTunes Tax: $4.23 million tax increase
Gift Tax: $15 million tax increase
Removing the Gas Tax Credit: $60.5 million
Option Sales Tax: $391 million
Removes Mortgage Interest Deduction
Removes Child Care Expense Deduction
Removes K-12 Education Deduction
Removes Charitable Donations Deduction
I voted no on these tax increases. In fact all Republicans in the House voted no. The Governor has said time and again we can lead the state out of this budget deficit without raising taxes. He will certainly veto this bill, and any other bill, that raises taxes. I will stand strong with the Governor and protect your wallets.
-- 30 --
News Items
- Memorial Day Message - (Posted: May 27 2013 2:18PM)
- Dettmer Statement on HF956 - Omnibus Energy Bill - (Posted: May 8 2013 3:10PM)
- Minneapolis Veterans Deserve Better - (Posted: May 3 2013 3:31PM)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.