ST. PAUL, MN—House Republicans held a press conference Monday calling for significant tax cuts for Minnesota families using the state’s $1.5 billion budget surplus. Senate Republicans announced their “Get Your Billion Back” tax plan earlier this year, while House Democrats and Gov. Walz have remained silent on whether they will put forward a tax cut bill this session.
“Minnesota has a large budget surplus thanks to hardworking Minnesotans’ contributions to our state and local economies, making clear that this surplus belongs to them,” said Representative Brian Daniels, R-Faribault. “That’s why I am such a strong advocate for returning the surplus to hardworking Minnesotans through tax relief. House and Senate Republicans are united in our work to cut taxes for families and I hope Governor Walz and Democrats will join us.”
You can watch a replay of the press conference here.
The House Republican proposal is comprised of five bills including:
- Eliminating state taxes on social security benefits. House Republicans successfully pushed to eliminate social security taxes for 250,000+ Minnesotans in 2017, this provision would finish that effort and eliminate social security taxes entirely.
- Childcare Tax Credit. Republicans are seeking to help families dealing with childcare expenses by increasing the income threshold for the dependent care credit from the current cap of $52,160 to $75,000 making thousands more families eligible for assistance paying childcare bills.
- Doubling the student loan tax credit. Rep. Greg Davids helped create the first-ever student loan tax credit of up to $500 for college graduates making payments on their loans. The House GOP proposal would double that credit to $1,000.
- Tax Fairness for Farmers and Main Street Businesses. Last session’s failure to enact full Section 179 conformity is causing massive unexpected tax bills for farmers and businesses. House Republicans are proposing to fully conform and make it retroactive so farmers and businesses are not stuck with tax bills many simply cannot afford.
- Property Tax Relief. By putting an additional $50 million into school equalization aid, this would effectively result in a property tax cut for Minnesota homeowners by reducing reliance on local property tax revenue.
- Increasing the Personal Exemption. Every Minnesotan would benefit from an approximately $1300 increase to the personal exemption.
In total, Republicans are putting forward approximately $1 billion in tax relief.
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