ST. PAUL – A pair of bills designed to make life more affordable for Minnesotans were defeated on the House floor recently after every House Democrat voted against them.
The plans would have lowered property taxes and vehicle tab fees.
In 2023 when Democrats controlled the Minnesota House, Senate and governor’s office, they agreed to change the vehicle tab fee formula and effectively raised those rates by 20%. Drivers are noticing, as some are now paying more than $1,000 for yearly tabs on a vehicle that’s less than three years old. Tabs for that same vehicle in Wisconsin would cost $85.
The proposal considered by the Minnesota House on April 9 would have brought Minnesota’s vehicle tab fees on newer and older vehicles back to pre-2023 levels. Doing so would have provided nearly $1 billion in tax relief for drivers. Representative Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) voted yes on the bill.
“Tab fees far exceed those in our neighboring states, making Minnesota less competitive,” Torkelson said. “Everyone benefits from our transportation system, from babies in the ICU to grandmas in the nursing home. Everyone needs reliable roads to get people and goods to their destination. This was a justifiable use of General Fund tax dollars and would have provided many drivers with hundreds of dollars in tab fee savings.”
Skyrocketing property tax rates are also on people’s minds. Due in part to the excessive number of unfunded mandates a DFL-led legislature and Governor Walz passed on to counties during the 2023-2024 biennium, Torkelson said counties have no other choice but to pass those costs on to property taxpayers to meet the state’s demands.
The House also considered legislation that creates a one-time, statewide property tax refund for taxes payable in 2026. The refund is a single statewide percentage tied to the amount of eligible property taxes paid and would be directed to the taxpayers who face the property tax bills. The $4 billion tax relief proposal even included a built-in “no one gets left behind” feature: if nobody applies for a property’s refund, the bill requires the state to convert that amount into a 2027 property tax credit on the property.
“A property tax is a tax leveled on residents regardless of their income,’ Torkelson said. “For people who are struggling to pay back their home loans, increased property taxes create a financial hardship as they may not have the means needed to cover the higher costs. Minnesota needs to reduce the size and scope of government rather that constantly gorging it with higher tax increases.”
Torkelson said the bills that would have lowered vehicle tab fees and property taxes failed by one vote, with all Republicans voting yes and all Democrats voting no. Any bill needs 68 votes to pass the House, which is currently comprised of 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats.