As the legislature works to assemble a final state budget agreement, Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) will serve on the conference committee for the tax bill. The conference committee, which includes five members of each legislative body, is responsible for working out a compromise on differences in the tax bills passed by the House and the Senate. 

“I look forward to working with my colleagues from both chambers on a compromise tax bill that meets the needs of the citizens of Minnesota. Negotiations must focus on solutions that encourage economic growth and opportunity while staying within our state’s budget realities,” said Senator Howe. “As I have in the past, I will advocate approaching our tax plan in a realistic and responsible manner that ensures we aren’t crushing Minnesotans with taxes and fees.”

“The tax bill that we are working on must make sure that government spending and taxing does not rise to any unsustainable levels but instead allows all Minnesota residents and our private sector the opportunity to succeed,” concluded Senator Howe.

Last week, the Minnesota Senate passed the first income tax rate cut in nearly two decades. That bill would make significant updates to the state’s tax laws, expanding deductions for farmers and small businesses, reducing the statewide property tax levy by $50 million, and lowering taxes on affordable housing. The bill includes a tax reduction for charitable gaming organizations so they can invest more in our communities and increases the income tax subtraction for Social Security benefits. Finally, the bill would expand the K-12 education tax credit and create a program that would provide that children could receive a scholarship and would allow charitable donations to fund education scholarships for low-income students.

Conference committees began meeting this week and will continue until an agreement is reached but need the joint targets to finish the work. Joint targets are the agreed-upon amounts that will be spent overall and in each budget area.  Those negotiations are ongoing at this time.  After a conference committee has passed compromise legislation, both legislative bodies must vote to approve the agreement before sending it to the governor for a signature or veto. The legislature is constitutionally-mandated to adjourn by May 20.