ST. PAUL – Minnesota’s budget surplus continues to rise and State Rep. Matt Bliss, R-Pennington, said the conditions remain ripe for significant tax relief at a time people are facing higher costs of living.
Minnesota Management & Budget issued its February economic forecast for the state 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.”
Bliss 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.
“This economic report reiterates that we should approve major tax relief for Minnesotans this session,” Bliss said. “The state has an overabundance of revenue at a time families and businesses are having their budgets choked out by rising prices. The state budget is fully funded for the biennium, so let’s return these over-collected tax dollars to the people in the form of meaningful tax relief, starting with eliminating the state tax on Social Security.”
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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