To the Editor:
Adding taxes on cold medicine, auto repairs, haircuts, and clothes are all part of Governor Dayton's budget released this week. Overall, the governor is proposing $3.7 billion in tax increases. Every middle class Minnesotan will take a hit to the pocketbook under this budget.
Government spending will increase by $2.7 billion under the governor's budget. For fiscal year 2012-13, the state spent $35.2 billion. The governor wants to increase spending to $37.9 billion for fiscal year 2014-15. That's a whopping 7 percent increase in spending.
All of this comes after a November Budget Forecast showing the state has an additional $850 million in revenue to work with over the previous biennium.
In addition to paying a new transit tax, the middle class will now pay taxes on online purchases made through companies like Amazon, on digital downloads such as iTunes or Apps, and on legal and accounting services such as H&R Block. Adding the sales tax to business-to-business transactions will result in higher home prices and higher consumer prices overall.
At the same time that Governor Dayton proposes to expand taxes on the middle class, he restores a multi-million dollar fund to pay for politicians’ campaigns. And, despite adding $2.7 billion in spending, the governor continues the education funding shift into the next biennium.
Governor Dayton’s plan comes at a time when our state is finally starting to recover. We have bridged a nearly $9 billion gap to get out of the red; unemployment is down; confidence is up; and businesses are growing. The last two years are proof that a more fiscally prudent approach has worked and will continue to work to grow the private economy.
My colleagues and I met with Governor Dayton to discuss his budget. I look forward to working with him and Democrats to revise this budget in a way that will grow our economy and not harm middle class Minnesotans and job providers.
It is an honor to serve the people of Plymouth in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Please feel free to contact me at any time. My door is always open.
Sincerely,
Sarah Anderson
State Representative
District 44A
Join my email updates list at house.mn/44a