Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R)

Back to profile

ANOTHER POSITIVE STATE BUDGET FORECAST

Friday, December 4, 2015

Minnesota’s economic experts say a $1.871 billion budget surplus is expected for our state’s next two year budget cycle, which has created some holiday cheer in and around the State Capitol.

 

Expectations for this surplus should be tempered slightly. Of the $1.871 windfall projection, roughly $665 million is mandated by law to make state payments and to be sent to Minnesota's budget reserves. This means the actual surplus number is closer to $1.2 billion, an amount that must be allocated before lawmakers adjourn in May.

 

There's no doubt that it's better to have a windfall than a shortfall. But as we've seen in the past, radically increasing our future state spending obligations is the surest way to bring back the cycle of budget deficits. We need to use some common sense as we determine how to utilize this surplus and in my opinion our focus should be tax relief policies that allow Minnesotans to keep more of their hard-earned money.

 

Last session lawmakers could not agree on how to provide tax relief to hardworking Minnesotans, and now that we know we have this significant budget surplus to allocate, we must come up with a plan that gives our taxpayers a break.

 

A good example would be the Retire in Minnesota Act proposal I'm chief authoring, which would eventually phase out the Minnesota tax on Social Security income. This is a measure that would give senior citizens a reason to stay in our state and put more money in their pockets.

 

Looking ahead to our next budget cycle, budget officials also project Minnesota to see a surplus of $2.046 billion.

 

The surest proof that Minnesotans are being taxed too much is for the state to keep seeing budget surpluses. With this latest economic news, I am hopeful that tax relief will be our top priority during the 2016 session.

 

As always, I am interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Kathy.Lohmer@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4244. You can also send mail to my office address: 501 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent News for Rep. Kathy Lohmer