Maple Grove Lawmaker Calls House Tax Bill ‘Disappointing’

The Minnesota House passed a tax bill on Thursday. The state Senate is next with a vote possible on Monday.

The bill, HF 1938, passed by the DFL-controlled House aims to provide $3 billion in tax relief through a mixture of tax credits, reductions and rebate checks. The measure was passed along party lines with 69 DFL members for and 57 Republicans against.

DFLers call it the “largest tax cut in Minnesota history.”

The bill includes creating a new fifth tax tier that increases taxes on the state’s wealthiest Minnesotans. The new rate would be 10.85 percent, applying to married joint filers who earn more than $1 million, $800,000 for heads of households and $600,000 for single taxpayers.

Emphasizing the state’s more than $17 billion surplus, Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, calls the tax bill “disappointing,” noting the bill contains $2.2 billion in tax increases. She also says a promise to fully repeal a tax on social security was not kept.

“That was a bipartisan campaign promise. All of us when we were campaigning in our districts, everyone heard that from the doors, and DFLers and Republicans made that promise and it is not being kept,” Robbins said during a press conference on Thursday.

A subtraction of Social Security taxes under the House DFL bill applies to about 76 percent of Minnesotans.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, says much of the state’s $17 billion surplus is one-time money. She says continued investment is needed in priorities such as education and health care.

“We’re proposing to make the tax code more fair and more progressive to provide sustainable funding for education, health care, transportation and so much more,” said Hortman.

The bill creates a new, simplified childcare tax credit program, enabling lower-income families to receive up to $1,175 per child. DFL lawmakers say it would impact more than one million families and reduce child poverty by 22.9 percent. For families without children, the legislation includes direct rebates of $550 for married couples filing joint returns and $275 for single and other filers.

Also See: Minnesota Senate Passes Historic Recreational Marijuana Bill

Brooklyn Park | Maple Grove | Twin Cities