Dear Neighbor,
Today is the deadline for Gov. Mark Dayton to sign or veto the 2016 tax bill. We passed this bill with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Legislature. The vote was 123-10 in the House and 55-12 in the Senate. This is about working together for the past two years to reach real compromise among both DFL and GOP legislators on what needs to be done.
The bill includes half a billion dollars in permanent, ongoing middle-class tax relief including (over the next three years):
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Increased Local Government Aid: $10 million annual increase in the county program; $20 million to cities
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$150 million in tax relief for working families by expanding the working family tax credit. This reduces the tax burden for an estimated 386,000 low- and middle-income filers
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$110 million in tax relief for college graduates paying off student loans through a refundable tax credit up to $1,000, the first of its kind in the country
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$49 million in tax relief for families who contribute to 529 plans to save for their children's college costs
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$146 million in tax relief for every small business in Minnesota by exempting the first $100,000 of commercial-industrial property. This is projected to save Minnesota businesses $115 million in the next biennium
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$13 million in tax relief for Minnesota veterans by raising the income eligibility threshold, and increasing the total credit from $750 to $1000
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$32 million to reduce the cost of childcare by expanding the childcare tax credit, families could earn a tax credit up to a $960
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Federal conformity provisions that allow Minnesotans to deduct higher education tuition expenses, mortgage insurance premiums, classroom expenses for teachers, charitable giving (for seniors), and more
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$2,000 tax credit for parents of a stillborn child
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$91 million in tax relief for Minnesota farmers
The governor has threatened to veto the bill despite agreement that makes two changes he requested to fix a drafting error and restore a small sales tax exemption. It's time for the governor to put aside partisan politics.
Please ask him to do what's right for Minnesota today and sign the bill to give long-awaited tax relief to thousands of Minnesota families.
Please contact the governor and urge him to sign the tax bill. You can call his office toll free at
800-657-3717. You can email your comments to the governor by clicking
here. Please be respectful in any comments you make.
Sincerely,
Dale