I’ve served in state and local government for quite a while now, so it’s not uncommon for people to come up to me when I’m out in public and let me know what is on their mind. I love these conversations, because they are usually a pretty good barometer for what is frustrating the public at large.
Last weekend I went to the grocery store. I was stopped 13 times. Every single person wanted to talk about affordability, high taxes, tab fees, and fraud. Families are feeling pinched with basically every purchase, they are frustrated by rampant fraud and the failure to do anything about it, and Democrats continue to make these issues worse.
The tab fee issue especially is one I have been hearing about most often these days. I know that many of you are frustrated by it; I am too. We ran the numbers -- Minnesotans pay dramatically more in tab fees on a typical new car over five years than anywhere else in the region, and it’s not even all that close.
When Senate Republicans held the majority, we provided historic levels of funding for roads and bridges, and we did it without raising taxes. We provided funding for schools, and we did it without raising taxes. We funded our shared priorities, and we did it without raising taxes. In fact, we would have preferred to cut taxes.
Then Democrats won full control of government and took the opposite approach. They increased tab fees and slowed vehicle depreciation. They tied the gas tax to inflation, so it increases each year automatically and they don’t have to vote for it. All told, they raised more than $10 billion in taxes and fees. Along the way, they increased government spending by 40% -- it was reckless and unsustainable budgeting.
This year, Democrats are once again pursuing an agenda full of tax increases. They want to create a brand new state-level property tax on top of the local property taxes homeowners already pay. They want to expand the sales tax to cover advertising services -- that one alone is an $800 million tax increase.
There is also a proposal for a 10-cent-per-bottle excise tax on plastic beverage containers. On top of that, Democrats are pushing a new income tax bracket, a higher corporate tax rate, a tax on social media, and a new sales tax for housing. The list goes on and on and on.
So when I keep pointing out that Democrats want to make your lives more expensive, this is what I am talking about.
Senate Republicans will continue to focus on affordability. I have a bill that will reverse the Democrats tab fee increases. I have a bill that will undo their expensive greenhouse gas emissions mandates. (Democrats refuse to hear both of these bills.) We are pushing to cap property tax increases. And we are working to give local governments and schools relief from the expensive unfunded mandates Democrats imposed, which have pushed local budgets into the red.
As we near the end of the 2026 session, I hope common sense will prevail. Minnesotans continue to tell us that affordability is the number one issue. Tax increases shouldn’t even be part of the discussion.