ST. PAUL – Minnesota’s budget surplus continues to grow and State Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said the conditions remain ripe for permanent, meaningful 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.”
Demuth 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 is a much better economic scenario for our state than the horrific shortfall projections issued earlier in the pandemic,” Demuth said. “While we avoided that crisis, a different set of issues has arisen. Namely, our state has a massive over-collection of tax dollars at a time when Minnesota families and businesses are struggling to make ends meet amid higher prices.
“We can help mitigate that pain by providing permanent, meaningful relief this session. The state’s government is fully funded for the biennium so there’s no excuse to not get these surplus dollars back in the hands of overtaxed Minnesotans. We can start by ending 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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