Dear Friends and Neighbors,
A very busy week at the Capitol! Here is an update with the latest news from Saint Paul.
Tax Conformity
I shared last week that Governor Dayton’s budget includes a $1.4 billion tax increase on hardworking Minnesotans. In contrast, Republicans released a tax conformity plan that aims to simplify our tax code, hold as many people as possible harmless, and advance the first income rate reduction in nearly two decades. In all, more than 2.1 million Minnesota filers would benefit from a tax cut next year if our plan is signed into law.
Highlights include:
- Helping middle-class Minnesotans keep more of what they earn by cutting the second tier income tax rate from 7.05% to 6.75% by tax year 2020. This would mark the first income tax rate reduction in Minnesota since 2000.
- Lowering taxes for people at all income levels by increasing the standard deduction from $13,000 to $14,000.
- Protecting families by preserving a state personal and dependent exemption of $4,150.
- Encouraging affordable homeownership by allowing a state-itemized deduction of up to $30,000 in property taxes.
- Supporting hometown businesses and farmers by reinvesting extra revenue from corporate tax changes into Section 179 conformity and overall rate reductions.
Addressing tax conformity this session will help avoid unnecessary complications for tax filers next year. This is a very important issue, and I will share more as our tax plan works its way through the legislative process.
Education/Higher Education Bill
School safety is a top priority this session, and as part of the supplemental education bill passed on Thursday, we are advancing a comprehensive package that gives our school districts the flexibility they need to make security upgrades, address student mental health and help keep our kids safe. Our bill includes expanding the use of long-term facilities maintenance revenue for facility security upgrades, strengthening the state’s commitment to school-linked mental health grants, supporting suicide prevention training for teachers, increasing funding for Safe Schools Revenue, and more.
Additionally, what rural schools need versus what city schools may need to address student safety can be vastly different, and our bill champions local control. There is also a floor level of funding to make sure small schools receive a base level of critical funding.
Other education provisions in the bill strengthen laws around teacher misconduct, ensure students are exposed to a wide variety of post-secondary options including the military and the trades, and create more transparency in school finance and performance reporting.
For higher education, highlights include measures to fund student loan debt counseling, make investments to freeze tuition, support cyber security programs, and back a textbook affordability initiative.
Working for our students and schools is a priority we all share at the Capitol, and I think there are a lot of commonsense provisions in this bill that will greatly benefit Minnesota kids, educators and schools statewide.
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It’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. I am here to serve you!
Sincerely,
Deb
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/01B