St. Paul, Minnesota — Today, the Minnesota House passed legislation to cut taxes for more than one million middle class families and repeal business-to-business taxes. House passage sends the bill to Governor Dayton to be signed into law. State Representatives John Ward (DFL – Baxter) and Joe Radinovich (DFL – Crosby) voted for the bill.
“It’s great news for the people of Minnesota that we’re sending this bill to Governor Dayton today,” said Rep. Ward. “With a growing economy and strong budget surplus, this is a great time to pass these tax cuts and continuing building on the progress we’ve made to grow Minnesota’s middle class.”
“More than a million middle-class, working Minnesotans will receive a tax cut under this bill,” said Rep. Radinovich. “I’m pleased we’re sending the final bill to Governor Dayton to sign into law. We made a lot of progress in the last year and this is another step to expand economic opportunity.”
Last session the House included federal tax conformity for tax year 2013 and beyond, but it did not end up in the final budget signed into law. 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. The tax cuts through federal conformity 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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54,000 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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$1.9 million for Minnesota families with dependents
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26,000 families with household incomes below $38,570 will see a $80 tax decrease
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$400,000 for adopting parents 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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$6.7 million for businesses - to make tax filing simpler for businesses
(Source: Non-partisan House Research)
The bill increases the Working Family Credit above and beyond federal conformity, providing a total of $66.2 million in tax cuts to 331,000 claimants earning less than $49,103. The average family will see a $146 tax cut through this expansion of the Working Family Credit.
The final bill also repeals three business-to-business taxes on warehousing and storage services, commercial equipment repair (including farm machinery) and telecommunications equipment.
If taxpayers have not filed their tax return, the Department of Revenue is asking that taxpayers wait until Monday to file. If they have already filed, the Department of Revenue will examine the return to see if they qualify for these tax cuts and notify them if they need more information or if they need to file an amended return.
Reps. Ward and Radinovich encourage constituents to contact them with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on any legislative topic. Rep. Ward can be reached by phone at 651-296-4333 or by email at rep.john.ward@house.mn. Rep. Radinovich can be reach by phone at 651-296-2365 or email at rep.joe.radinovich@house.mn.