St Paul, MN – Today, the Minnesota House passed legislation to cut taxes for more than 1 million middle class families and to repeal business-to-business taxes. House passage sends the bill to Governor Dayton to be signed into law. The bill would reduce taxes for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans, largely by conforming to federal tax changes. State Representatives Andrew Falk (DFL – Murdock) voted for the bill.
“These tax cuts will help families and businesses in our area,” said Falk. “I’m happy to see them passed in time for this year’s tax deadline.”
More than one million middle-class Minnesotans will see $225 million in tax cuts due to federal conformity and boosting the state’s Working Family Credit. Among others, the tax cuts through federal conformity include:
• $111 million for middle income married families by eliminating the “marriage penalty”
o 650,000 families will see an average tax decrease of $115
o The vast majority of families claiming the standard deduction make less than $75,000
• $36 million for low income working families by matching the state’s Working Family Credit with the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
o 54,000 working families will see an average tax decrease of $300
• $26.4 million for students and parents paying for college and students paying off loans
(Source: Non-partisan House Research)
An additional $30.2 million will be spent to increase the Working Family Credit above and beyond federal conformity, providing a total of $66.2 million to 331,000 claimants earning less than $49,103. The average family will see a $146 tax cut.
Rep. Falk encouraged constituents to take advantage of free tax preparation services available through the Free File program. Every taxpayer with a 2013 Adjusted Gross Income of $58,000 or less may visit www.IRS.gov/freefile to prepare, complete and e-file their federal tax returns at no cost.
Free File also offers basic federal e-filing services with no income limitations. This basic e-filing service, called Free File Fillable Forms, allows taxpayers who are familiar with tax law and need no preparation assistance to complete and file their federal income tax electronically. It is also available at www.IRS.gov/freefile.