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State Representative Tara Mack
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5506
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E-mail update
A closer look at bonding, taxes
Hello from the Capitol
BONDING BILL PROPOSED:
This week Governor Dayton issued a proposal to borrow $1 Billion to
fund projects around the state through a bonding bill. While bonding
bills can serve as a valuable tool to make strategic investments in
infrastructure, I have some serious reservations about borrowing more
money at a time when the state is facing a fiscal crisis. Over the past
six years the state has spent over $6 billion dollars on bonding bills
and legislative leaders have promised the creation of tens of thousands
of jobs yet our economy has continued to struggle.
Bonding bills come with a significant cost and for the first time in
our state’s history our debt service payments will top $1 billion
dollars for the coming budget cycle. This is debt that will need to be
repaid for generations to come. At a time when the state is facing a
$6.2 billion dollar budget deficit, I question the wisdom of adding more
debt on the state’s bonding credit card. It is also worth noting that
our state already has approximately $2.6 billion in authorized, but
unissued, general obligation bonds. This money was for projects that
were supposed to be shovel ready in order to get people to work and has
yet gone unused.
First and foremost our task as a legislature this year is to solve the
budget deficit. The state is out of money and we need to begin the
difficult task of prioritizing our state spending within the revenue
realities that we face. Borrowing upward of a billion dollars and
adding to our debt obligations before a budget solution is enacted is
not a wise course of action. Traditionally bonding bills are completed
in even years, and I believe that it will be appropriate for the
legislature to consider a state bonding bill at that time. We can pass
bonding bills in odd years, but it is usually reserved for emergencies
such as flood relief.
TAX ISSUES:
At the Capitol, we’re working to improve Minnesota’s business climate
and Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, provided some valuable
information and insight during a recent Tax Committee meeting I
attended. Mr. Hodge underscored that Minnesota’s corporate tax rating
is among the nation’s highest. He said our chilly business climate not
only puts us at a competitive disadvantage by making us less attractive
to new businesses, but also indicated that the burden of corporate taxes
is passed on to us as higher prices and lower worker wages.
He urged us to enact serious tax reform as soon as possible and I will
continue working to help our state become a better place to set up shop.
Our small businesses are the backbone of our economy and their success
will lead us back to economic prosperity.
I look forward to working with Governor Dayton and my colleagues in the
House to balance our budget, improve our state’s business climate,
reform the way government does its business, and get people back to
work.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Tara Mack
News Items
- April 6 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-04-06 00:00:00)
- March 30 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-03-30 00:00:00)
- March 23 Legislative Update - (Posted: 2012-03-23 00:00:00)
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