ST. PAUL – State Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, issued the following statement in response to Minnesota Management & Budget on Friday issuing a new state economic forecast which projects a $1.6 billion surplus for the 2022-23 budget cycle, a sharp turnaround from the $1.3 billion shortfall projected in December for the same period:
“It is nice to see our budget is in far better shape than what was projected in recent months,” Demuth said. “Now we know exactly what we’re working with as we look to put a new state budget in place by the end of May. We spent the first part of this session talking about general budgeting concepts and now can shift to discussing specific plans. Our overall mission should be to help businesses and families that have been impacted during the pandemic recover from financial setbacks they’ve experienced, due to restrictions placed on them or otherwise. Tax increases are unnecessary, would be detrimental to regrowing our economy and should be set aside during negotiations.”
MMB said the turnaround is due, in large part, to an improved U.S. economic outlook that is bolstered by large federal actions that have emerged since November and were not incorporated in earlier projections. The projected surplus also is related to a higher revenue forecast, lower state spending, and an increased surplus for the current fiscal year.
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