ST. PAUL – Minnesota’s budget surplus continues to expand and State Rep. Shane Mekeland, R-Clear Lake, said a golden opportunity remains for providing 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.”
Mekeland 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.
“The state government is fully funded for the biennium and has $10 billion left over,” Mekeland said.” Meanwhile, Minnesota’s families and businesses are stretched thin by price increases in the Biden-Walz economy. We have a real opportunity this session to provide Minnesotans with meaningful, permanent tax relief, starting with ending our state tax on Social Security. We also must prevent businesses from absorbing a huge unemployment insurance rate increase on March 15. Anything less is unacceptable.”
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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