Dear Neighbor,
Believe it or not, July 1 is just around the corner. While I’m hoping for some pleasant summer weather, I regret to report we’re going to have some unpleasant laws coming into effect at the beginning of the month.
Effective July 1, Minnesota will have a new fourth tier income tax bracket at a 9.85% level on the state’s high income earners. While this tax is intended to hit wealthy Minnesotans, it will actually hit small business owners the hardest. Under this new tax, Minnesota’s income tax rate will be the second highest in the nation for comparative income and have the fourth highest percentage in the nation. In order to help finance the Vikings stadium, taxes will be going up from $1.23 to $2.83 per-pack for cigarettes. I don’t smoke, but I don’t think we should be putting the burden of building the Vikings stadium on smokers. Also, expect to pay more if you download music, videos, or books online with the new consumer sales tax on digital downloads. One surprise feature of the tax bill that was included at the last minute at the end of session – a new office building for members of the Minnesota Senate that will cost taxpayers close to $90 million so senators can have a panoramic view of St. Paul. We shouldn’t be taking more money from hard-working taxpayers to give state senators a cushy new office building.
If you see a spike in your electric bill in the next few months, you can attribute that to the new solar energy production mandate passed this session that goes into effect July 1. While I firmly believe we need to have a comprehensive energy policy in Minnesota, setting arbitrary renewable energy standards will make energy more costly and less reliable for all Minnesotans.
Much was made by DFL leadership at the beginning of the legislative session about paying down the school shift. However, the new K-12 education finance bill coming into effect July 1 contains no provision to finally pay back the school shift. Instead, it relies on surplus funds resulting from the budget passed by Republican legislators in 2011 to speed repayment of the borrowed money from schools by the previous DFL-controlled legislature.
As always, I am interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Kathy.Lohmer@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4244. You can also send mail to my office address: 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Kathy