Dear Neighbor,
The House has been working to come up with a revised tax bill after the governor disappointingly vetoed the good, bipartisan package we sent him on Tuesday.
The bill simplifies Minnesota’s tax code to fully benefit from federal tax reform and provides tax relief to middle-class Minnesotans. It includes the first income tax rate cut for Minnesotans in nearly two decades, reducing taxes for 2.2 million Minnesotans. Without reforms in this bill, conforming to the sweeping federal tax changes that were recently adopted would cause nearly 970,000 Minnesota filers to pay more.
While it was bad enough to see the governor veto this bill, the way he did it also is cause for concern. The governor conducted a veto ceremony in a St. Paul grade school, complete with many young children standing behind him in apparent “support” of his veto. In my opinion, he crossed a line by using children as props for his political gain.
So now it’s back to the negotiating table with the tax bill in the hopes we can put another package forward before we are scheduled to adjourn Monday. There are some tax provisions I have personally authored that I am continuing to push for inclusion in the next round. Those include measures to help farmers with provisions related to homestead taxes, Section 179 conformity for equipment purchases and remediation/sales tax exemptions to help Melrose recover from a fire.
On another subject, today on the House floor we passed the omnibus agriculture policy bill I authored. There was significant compromise made along the way, including deleting a provision requiring a new nitrogen rule to come back for legislative approval before being implemented. I favored retaining that provision, but it became a real sticking point in passing the bill.
On the other hand, a provision that was added to the bill provides for greater clarity and local control by keeping regulations regarding soil loss in the hands of local counties and Soil and Water Conservation Districts instead of being imposed by the state Board of Water and Soil Resources.
Have a good weekend and I will pass along more news as things unfold at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Paul