ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House on Monday passed bipartisan tax legislation which aims to simplify Minnesota’s tax code and provide additional tax relief to middle-class Minnesotans. The legislation also delivers the first income tax rate cut for Minnesotans in nearly two decades by reducing the second tier income tax rate.
“Federal tax reform presented a significant opportunity to simplify our state tax code and the bill we’ve passed in the House not only helps us accomplish that, but also puts us in position to capitalize on surplus dollars to provide broad tax relief to the middle class,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud. “The bipartisan support for this bill is a true testament to the benefits it would provide and I look forward to working with the governor and our colleagues in the Senate to work out the finer points on a plan that benefits middle-class Minnesotans.”
Without the House reforms, conforming to the federal tax code would cause nearly 970,000 filers to pay more. Instead, the House bill delivers the first income tax cut in nearly 20 years and more than 2.1 million Minnesota filers will benefit from a tax cut in tax year 2018.
Highlights include:
In contrast to the House’s legislation to simplify and reduce taxes, an analysis conducted by the Minnesota Department of Revenue shows that tax changes proposed in Gov. Mark Dayton’s supplemental budget would raise taxes on Minnesotans of every income level, and make Minnesota's tax code more regressive.
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