ST. PAUL – State Rep. Matt Bliss, R-Pennington, is co-authoring legislation to fully repeal the state tax on Social Security, providing some breathing room for seniors and others – particularly those on fixed incomes.
Bliss said Minnesota is one of just 12 states that still tax social security benefits. With a $17.6 billion state budget surplus, and price increases straining family budgets, Bliss said the time is right for a full repeal.
If not now, Bliss asked, when?
“We made some progress as a Republican House majority on this issue back in 2017, but it’s time to finish the job,” said Bliss, who is co-sponsoring H.F. 153 and H.F. 57 to do so. “Let’s do what’s right for our seniors and other people on Social Security by eliminating this unjust tax. With a historic surplus of around $18 billion, it could be now or never.”
Bliss said a full repeal would benefit 473,000 people with an average tax savings of $1,276. In contrast, Gov. Tim Walz’s budget proposal doesn’t fully repeal the state Social Security tax, with only 43% of Minnesotans receiving some form of relief – on average, $278 per household.
Minnesota’s tax structure is unfriendly to retirees, Bliss said, with reports showing the state loses significantly more domestic residents each year to other states than it gains. Business and personal finance publisher Kiplinger lists Minnesota among its “not tax-friendly” states for retirees, indicating, “The North Star State offers cold comfort on the tax front to retirees.”
Bliss acknowledged cold winters play a role in Minnesota’s migration patterns, which he said simply underscores the importance of improving our state in areas the Legislature can control.
“Hard winters are part of life around here, so we cannot afford for our state to manufacture further incentives for people to leave from Minnesota,” Bliss said. “Eliminating the state tax on Social Security is low-hanging fruit that should be a top priority this session, especially after Democrats have signaled support for this effort. But we’re now more than one month into the session and the majority has been spent more time bringing deeply partisan proposals to the floor than passing bills such as this that we all should support.”
In addition, Bliss said he is working on a separate bill to reduce property taxes for seniors and still another to provide disabled veterans with property tax exclusions.
-30-