ST. PAUL – Minnesota’s budget surplus continues to snowball and State Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, said the conditions remain ripe for permanent tax relief at a time people are facing higher costs of living.
Minnesota Management & Budget issued its February economic forecast Monday and it projects a $9.3 billion biennial surplus. That figure is up $1.5 billion from the already historic $7.7 billion surplus projected in November. State officials indicate “A higher income, consumer spending, and corporate profit forecast results in an improved revenue projection while spending is slightly lower in E-12 education and Health and Human Services.”
Urdahl said the state already is fully funded for the biennium, meaning robust tax relief should be in store with the state’s whopping excess revenue.
“Our state government continues to possess massive revenue overages at a time taxpayers are having to stretch their dollars further amid higher prices in our current economy,” Urdahl said. “We have a great opportunity to restore balance by delivering historic, permanent tax relief to Minnesotans. Tax relief should be our top focus the rest of this session, and we can start by eliminating the state tax on Social Security and acting to prevent businesses from suffering higher unemployment insurance rates in mid-March as currently scheduled.”
In its report, MMB also indicates the structural balance in the FY 2024-25 planning estimates remains positive and largely unchanged from November.?It also says uncertainty due to inflation and geopolitical conflict pose risk to the budget and economic outlook.
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