ST. PAUL – On Thursday the Minnesota House of Representatives passed HF 1777, a bill that cuts taxes for middle-class Minnesotans and repeals three businesses-to-business taxes. The final vote was 126-2.
State Representative David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) voted in favor of the legislation.
“Based on the recent budget forecast, coupled with eliminating previous budget gimmicks, I voted to eliminate the marriage penalty, support other federal tax conformity issues, remove the business to business taxes adopted in 2013 and return tax dollars to the folks at home,” said Rep. Dill.
Whenever Congress changes federal tax law, the Legislature must decide whether to conform to the changes at the state level or not. Last session the House included federal tax conformity for tax year 2013 and beyond. However, this did not end up in the final budget signed into law. The legislation passed by the House Tax Committee would provide $200 million in middle class tax cuts through permanent federal tax conformity.
Those tax cuts include:
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$111 million for middle income married families by eliminating the “marriage penalty”
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650,000 families will see an average tax decrease of $115
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The vast majority of families claiming the standard deduction make less than $75,000
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$36 million for low income working families by matching the state’s Working Family Credit with the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
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More than 50,000 working families will see an average tax decrease of $300
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$7.2 million for homeowners that refinanced or had a short sale
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$3.9 million for new homeowners through deduction of mortgage insurance premiums
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80,000 new homeowners will see an average tax cut of $60
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$26.4 million for students and parents paying for college and students paying off loans
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$1.8 million for Minnesota families with dependents
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25,000 families with household incomes below $38,570 will see a $65 tax decrease
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$400,000 for adopting who receive adoption assistance from employers
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$1.1 million for 60,0000 teachers with the classroom expense deduction for educators
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$4 million for charitable contributions
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$1.8 million for Minnesota families with dependents
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25,000 families with household incomes below $38,570 will see a $65 tax decrease
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$6.7 million for businesses - to make tax filing simpler for businesses
The House Tax bill also would repeal three business-to-business taxes (warehousing and storage services, commercial equipment repair (including farm machinery) and telecommunications equipment) that were passed as part of the 2013 budget. Last year those taxes were part of a Senate package that paid for an upfront capital sales exemption for businesses and provided property tax relief by eliminating sales taxes for cities and counties.