Tax Day has come and gone, and my office has been flooded with constituents reaching out and asking for help after seeing their enormous tax bills. Minnesota serves as one of the most severely overtaxed states in the nation, and our enormous $17.5 billion budget surplus reveals just how significantly this holds true. With household budgets across our nation and state stretched thin, we should be looking to pass meaningful tax cuts, not ask more of Minnesota taxpayers. Yet House and Senate Democrat budget targets seek to exhaust every dollar of the surplus and impose burdensome new tax and fee increases.

Recently, Senate Republicans exposed nearly $10 billion in proposed tax hikes from Democrats, despite having a historic surplus. These massive tax increases are the result of just six bills proposed this session, each of which has the support of one of the all-Democrat-controlled bodies of state government. The six bills considered add up to $9.69 billion in higher taxes and fees. There are additional fees in other budget bills and policy provisions, meaning taxpayers could be on the hook for $13 billion or more. In a time of such substantial surplus, I strongly believe we should be passing historic tax cuts, not historic tax hikes.

From the very beginning of this legislative session, Senate Republicans have been adamant that we focus on giving money back to hardworking Minnesotans. We have been clear that until a plan is in place to provide meaningful tax relief, we cannot look to pass a bonding bill that would mortgage $1.5 billion in taxpayer dollars. 

There are many important local infrastructure projects across the state and in our community that we should bond, and I am fully supportive of doing so. That’s why after temporarily voting down the bonding bill, I voted in favor of keeping the bill on general orders, which allows the bill to be voted on at any time without having to go back through the entire legislative process.

I am ready and willing to invest robustly in our infrastructure. However, I believe that it is simply the wrong priority to borrow more taxpayer dollars before we deliver relief for Minnesotans. My hand is stretched out across the aisle, waiting for those on the other side to come to the table to work towards compromise. 

With the understanding of the importance of both tax relief and a bonding bill in mind, Senate Republicans introduced alternate budget targets to deliver both. Our plan includes additional funding for agricultural budgets, a strong bonding bill, and additional support to address the long-term care crisis. It also provides for the full elimination of the tax on Social Security, an issue that I regularly hear about from members of our community.

There is a path forward that represents a true compromise that puts Minnesotans first. We must support Minnesotan families by providing meaningful tax relief, not runaway spending. Minnesotans have been paying high taxes for years. It’s time to listen to them and rein in explosive government spending. 

State Senator Julia Coleman