Dear Friends,
A little less than a month from today on July 1st, 2013, the first wave of crushing Democrat policies will start to take effect in Minnesota. Among the new policies are a permanent $2 billion dollar tax increase, as well as an avalanche of new fees, unfunded mandates, and regulations that will hit rural communities like ours especially hard.
A new sales tax on farm machinery repair will raise costs on our farmers to the tune of $28 million dollars every two years.
New permit fees will hit farmers as well as counties and cities, literally raising the cost of water.
Warehousing taxes, which will take effect a year from now will mean higher prices for everyday necessities like food and gas.
New taxes on gifts between family members on real estate and personal property, as well as changes to estate tax exemptions will result in the government taking even more out of the pockets of you and your family.
All of this to pay for billions of dollars in increased spending, much of which favors the Metro area. Our schools still face funding disparities, and less funding overall than the Metro. Local Government Aid (LGA) to our communities disproportionately is given to big cities like Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Duluth.
Republicans raised concerns at the beginning of session about the voice of rural Minnesota being diminished thanks to Metro Democrats chairing a vast majority of the committees, and a speaker and majority leader who both hail from Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Unfortunately, those concerns were validated with a budget that favors the Metro and hurts Greater Minnesota communities.
I will continue to keep you updated on the impacts and consequences of the Democrat budget as it continues to be implemented. Democrats have already begun to discuss the possible repeal of the warehouse tax, and I hope they continue to examine the possibility of repealing other misguided tax increases and policies that will have a negative impact on Greater Minnesota as well.
Have a great rest of your week,
Glenn