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News from Representative Petersburg 07-18-2013

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Dear Friends,
 
Last Friday, GOP Leader Kurt Daudt and I held a lunchtime forum at Ag Power in Owatonna to talk about the taxes that went into effect on July 1, and their impact on Greater Minnesota and the farmers in our community.

 

Numerous businesses around the state have already raised concerns about the new taxes on farm equipment repair that raises costs on hardworking farmers who produce the crops that put food on our tables and produce fuel for our cars.
 
We heard directly from business owners who repeated those concerns, and asked that the legislature examine the repeal of the farm equipment repair tax, which Governor Dayton has described as a possibility come next session.
 
It's disappointing that these taxes were even implemented in the first place. Between the misguided warehousing tax that's already costing Minnesota jobs and expansion opportunities, and the new taxes on farm equipment and other business-to-business taxes, we're seeing what happens when tax policy is thrown together haphazardly as the end of session drew near and leadership could not agree.
 
Many of the taxes that were raised were not thoroughly vetted during the committee process in the House, resulting in many unintended consequences for jobs and hardworking taxpayers around the state of Minnesota.
 
I look forward to the discussion of the repeal of these taxes next session, which begins in February. With revenues continuing to exceed projections, and the state's economy continuing to improve, it should be simple to identify ways we can cut wasteful spending and reduce the onerous burden these taxes put on hardworking Minnesotans.

Stay Connected
If you're on Facebook, I hope you'll "like" my legislative Facebook page, which you can find by visiting www.facebook.com/repjohnpetersburg, as well as the House Republican Caucus, by visitng www.facebook.com/mnhousegop for the latest news and updates from St. Paul.

Hope your summer is going well,

John Petersburg
State Representative, District 24A