To the editor of the White Bear Press:
When I was on the campaign trail in 2012, I talked with a lot of Minnesotans about the need to reduce property taxes.
When you do the math, you’ll find that property taxes have increased by 86 percent since 2002. This created an unfair and unacceptable burden on middle class families, small businesses, and senior citizens living on fixed incomes.
Thanks to the new budget passed by the DFL-led legislature and signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton, Minnesotans are set to receive long-overdue property tax relief.
According to new projections from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, our budget will reduce property taxes in 2014 by an estimated $121 million, or 1.5 percent—the first decrease in over a decade.
One of the ways our budget reduces property taxes is through a bill I authored that exempts cities and counties from paying sales tax. When state lawmakers originally extended the state sales tax to purchases by cities and counties in 1992, local governments passed those additional costs on to residents in the form of higher property taxes.
The new sales tax exemption creates significant savings for cities and counties, eliminating the additional costs that once drove up Minnesotans’ property taxes. I was honored when the Minnesota League of Cities recently named me a “Legislator of Distinction” for my work on this issue.
In addition to the new sales tax exemption, the DFL budget drives down property taxes by increasing aid to local governments and providing direct relief to homeowners and renters.
Regardless of your political affiliation, I think we can all agree that middle class property tax relief is a good thing. It means that more Minnesotans can keep more of their hard-earned money to save for retirement, send their kids to college, and buy everyday necessities like gas and groceries from local businesses.
If you have any questions about property taxes, please feel free contact me by phone at (651) 296-5363, by email at rep.peter.fischer@house.mn, or by postal mail at 421 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Peter Fischer
State Representative, District 43A