ST. PAUL – State Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, issued the following statement in response to Minnesota Management & Budget on Friday issuing a new state economic forecast which projects a $1.6 billion surplus for the 2022-23 budget cycle, a sharp turnaround from the $1.3 billion shortfall projected in December for the same period.
“This is good news, especially in light of the dire projection for our state’s economy that was issued last May and even as recently as December,” Anderson said. “It certainly will relieve some pressure as we work to balance the budget this session. We need to work on getting our state going again because people are still hurting financially after either being put out of work or seeing their paychecks shrink in recent months. Families and businesses already have sacrificed so much over the past year. Adding tax increases to their burden simply to fuel more state spending would be unnecessary and unhelpful, so I hope those talks are put to rest for this session.”
MMB said the turnaround is due, in large part, to an improved U.S. economic outlook that is bolstered by large federal actions that have emerged since November and were not incorporated in earlier projections. The projected surplus also is related to a higher revenue forecast, lower state spending, and an increased surplus for the current fiscal year.
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