Dear Neighbor,
Tuesday is Tax Freedom Day in Minnesota, the point in the year when we have earned enough money to pay our government’s tax bill.
The Tax Foundation indicates Minnesota’s Tax Freedom Day is the nation’s fifth latest. South Dakota’s came more than three weeks earlier than ours. Interestingly, Tax Freedom Day came on Jan. 22 back in 1900.
Now, the Tax Foundation says Americans will spend more on taxes in 2014 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined. That is astounding.
On a related note, the Tax Foundation also released information that Minnesota’s tax climate is worsening. According to the organization’s State Business Tax Climate Index, our state ranks 47 out of 50, down two spots from last year. The report compares the states in five areas of taxation that impact business: corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, and taxes on property, including residential and commercial property. Only California, New Jersey, and New York ranked lower than Minnesota.
Yet, Gov. Mark Dayton told legislative leaders this week he’s willing to spend another $100 million from our state’s $1.2 billion budget surplus. Keep in mind, legislative Democrats permanently increased state spending by $3 billion just last year, and the House recently passed a bill that would spend another $1 billion over the next three years.
At some point, Dayton and fellow Democrats need to stop treating our tax contributions as found money and end the unprecedented wasteful spending that has occurred over the past two years.
Sincerely,
Mark