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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
NEWS COLUMN
Spending bills reaching floor
By state Rep. Paul Anderson
The major spending bills are making their way onto the House floor. Along with them, comes a flurry of tax proposals by Democrats in the Legislature.
The one that has raised the most eyebrows is the Senate plan to increase income taxes across the board for all Minnesotans. In addition to raising the tax rates on the three current brackets, a new rate would be instituted for the highest income bracket.
The tax plan in the House would raise $1.5 billion, a half billion less than the Senate version. The House plan would also create a new tax bracket for married couples making more than $300,000 a year, in addition to raising the “sin” taxes by 54 cents per pack of cigarettes and three to five cents per drink of alcohol. (By the way, a new federal tax took effect April 1 that raised the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents per pack).
I read an interesting study recently that talked about what could happen when these types of taxes are increased. Nationally, only 16 of the last 57 state tobacco tax hikes have met their revenue goals. In one case, New Jersey, tax collections actually declined by $24 million over two years after that state instituted a tax increase on tobacco.
The point being when the price goes up – in many cases substantially – it actually causes some to users to either quit or cut back. Health-wise, that may a good thing, but the fact remains the revenue base for this tax becomes smaller and the tax itself becomes more regressive.
Last week, I wrote about the Omnibus Education bill that contained a provision to cut back on special education funding for private schools. The amendment I offered to take that provision out of the bill was defeated. My fellow Republicans on the committee all voted with me, but we lost. The Governor and the Department of Education both support our position so we will try once again when the bill is heard on the floor of the House.
I have received more e-mails on this subject than any other so far. Bussing for private/Catholic schools would be affected, but only the special ed. students being bused to a public school for classes.
Questions have also been asked about deductions and tax credits for private school students. That provision is not part of the education bill, but rather it’s in the tax bill, which will be heard soon on the House floor. The House tax bill also contains a provision that partially eliminates the deduction on mortgage interest for homeowners. That item, also, has generated numerous comments to my office.
The results to our survey have been tabulated. We received more than 1,500 replies from district residents, and for that, I want to say “Thanks.” The responses were interesting and I will share them with you in future columns.
The next few weeks will be very busy here at the Capitol. We have been told to expect long floor sessions that could last well into the night and include weekends.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his new office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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