ST. PAUL – Recently, Governor Walz unveiled his budget priorities for the next two years, and despite the fact that Minnesota is sitting on a nearly $18 billion budget surplus, the Governor wants to massively increase statewide taxes and fees.
“To propose raising billions of dollars in taxes in the face of an unprecedented $18 billion surplus is a poor approach,” Torkelson said. “Minnesotans are paying nearly $4 for a gallon of gas and $6 for a carton of eggs. They do not need nor want their taxes raised as their state government sits on a massive windfall.”
Torkelson noted among the Governor’s proposed tax increases includes a $1 billion payroll tax on employers for paid leave and an increase on motor vehicle tabs. According to a report by Axios, a new car's registration cost would be determined based on 160% of the manufacturer's suggested retail price instead of 100%. That means if you bought a $40,000 vehicle, you’d pay about $308 more in tab fees in year one, per MnDOT. If you buy a used car that was originally a $40,000 vehicle, you would pay $51 more per year.
Torkelson said he was also disappointed that Governor Walz is not supporting a full repeal of Minnesota’s tax on senior citizens’ Social Security benefits.
“There seemed to be universal bipartisan support for providing Social Security tax relief for all of Minnesota’s senior citizens on the campaign trail last year, but now that we have one-party rule in our state that support has quietly disappeared,” Torkelson noted.
In totality, Governor Walz’s budget would spend $65.2 billion on state government programs in the next two years, which is a 26% increase in spending.
“With this surplus, tax hikes should be completely off the table and we should be focusing on providing significant tax relief to Minnesotans,” Torkelson concluded.