ST. PAUL – State Rep. Shane Mekeland, R-Clear Lake, issued the following statement Tuesday in response to the budget proposal Gov. Tim Walz issued for the upcoming biennium, including a $1.7 billion tax increase that would give Minnesota the nation’s second-highest business tax and third-highest income tax rates:
“The governor told people they can’t make a living and now he wants to raise their taxes,” Mekeland said. “This is the wrong approach on so many levels. We’ve known for months that our economy was experiencing a setback, largely due to executive orders imposed by the governor. But, instead of working to mitigate the bottom line in advance, he has seemed more interested in circumventing the legislative process to put COVID-19 patients in long-term care facilities, plan for a sea of corpses and tell Minnesotans what they must do or not do. You want more tax revenue for the state? Let’s work on re-opening it so more people can get back to work and make a living. You want Minnesotans to be healthy? Let’s start promoting proven methods to help people live a healthy and happy life to the fullest.”
-30-