2013 State Budget: Vikings billionaire owners score TD on Minn. taxpayers, Gov. Dayton and DFL cheer from owner’s box
St. Paul – The 2013 state budget presents many problems for the hardworking taxpayers of Minnesota. Everyone will pay more not only to fund billions in new government spending (not to mention the consequent long-term structural deficits), but they will also pay millions more to bail out the faulty Vikings stadium electronic pull-tab funding source passed on a bi-partisan basis in 2012 and signed into law by Governor Dayton.
In the 2013 budget just completed, Governor Dayton abandoned a promise he made to protect taxpayers and not use general fund dollars to construct the new stadium.
However, the Tax Bill upped the cigarette tax by $1.60 per pack (to a total of $2.83 per pack) in the hopes that many low-income smokers will continue to smoke and thus support a 10 percent increase in government spending.
Instead of developing a long-term sustainable solution in response to the e-pull tab revenue shortfall (down 95 percent), the final solution involved preying upon folks addicted to nicotine while jeopardizing the financial health of border communities like Chisago County whose gas stations and convenience stores receive substantial business from border residents.
The initial speculation is that this tax increase will bring in $26.5 million to the state to pay for lower-than-expected e-pull tab revenue.
But here’s the kicker: Thanks to the generosity of the recently signed Tax Bill, the stadium will be subsidized with millions more in tax receipts from hardworking Minnesota tax dollars, thus eliminating any contribution the Vikings will have to make from team resources.
You see, the stadium deal struck last year by the Dayton Administration and Vikings team owners was that the team would provide $477 million of the nearly $1 billion stadium. The City of Minneapolis would contribute $150 million, and the public e-pull tab contribution was supposed to bring in $348 million.
Many Minnesota taxpayers do not know that the $477 million Vikings contribution comes from external funding sources, and not from Viking team resources. Vikings owners will be able to use multi-million dollar stadium naming rights deals, personal seat license fees from season ticket holders and a $200 million NFL gift/loan to eliminate paying their fair share of stadium costs.
We will never know exactly how much Vikings billionaire owners make off of these funding sources because the bill passed last year protected the team from ever having to share the details of their windfall with the public. But looking at what is currently going on at the new San Francisco 49ers stadium, it’s most likely that Vikings owners will not have to spend a dime from their own checkbook.
The nearly completed 49ers stadium is being funded exclusively by private funds and 49er team resources. To date, the California team has already received $800 million from personal seat licenses. When adding in stadium naming rights of $220 million and a gift/loan from the NFL, total stadium revenue received from the San Francisco owners has already exceeded $1.2 billion—which is more than the cost of building their stadium!
Using the 49ers’ private funding windfall as a model, there was absolutely no reason for Governor Dayton to break his promise to Minnesota taxpayers regarding general fund money not being used to fund the Viking stadium.
So, ultimately, what does the cigarette tax increase do for the Vikings? It lines the pockets of billionaire team owners from out of state.
I tried extremely hard this past session to prevent this from happening as most everyone, regardless of political party, believes that the Vikings should have to contribute a reasonable amount to the stadium that is being built for their benefit.
At the end of the day, the Vikings scored a touchdown in the 2013 budget at the expense of low-income families, school kids, the elderly and those addicted to tobacco
This is not right, and it is not responsible. Minnesotans deserve better.
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