LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM
REP. JEREMY MUNSON - DISTRICT 23B
Friday, March 11th, 2022 –
This past week the House debated a potential Gas Tax Holiday. The bill was introduced by Democrats and would have removed the .28c/gal tax on gas at the pump from Memorial Day to Labor Day this year only to help people cope with the high price of gasoline. We voted to suspend the rules and take this bill up immediately, but Democrats ultimately defeated the attempt to hear the bill on the floor. Gax Tax Holidays have been debated at many States and at the federal level. All Americans are suffering under skyrocketing fuel costs.
Gov. Walz himself urged the Chamber to pass a Holiday. Gov. Walz joined five other Democratic governors in calling on Congress to additionally suspend the federal 18-cent per gallon gas tax for the rest of the year. The problem is who pays for it, and with $12 billion in surplus, you’d think that’d be the last thing we are debating. Ultimately where the money comes from will be decided by the Senate.
Why is there a fight?
Last year, House democrats allotted $500 million to the Governor from federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. Just this past week 6 House Democrats proposed this tax holiday; democrats who coincidentally voted or proposed even higher taxes. So House Republicans tried to take the money to pay for the holiday out of the Governor’s secret little coin purse. The debate here is simple: the DFL should have never allowed the Governor to seize funds like that in the first place. The House has sole authority to spend on government funds, not the Governor. By pausing the state's gas tax Minnesotans would save an estimated $77 million a month, or by using the Governor's slush fund a tax holiday till Labor Day.
Gas prices were already on the rise before the US sanctions against Russia. This past week Biden closed the loophole allowing the US to purchase crude oil. This coupled with Biden’s refusal to allow domestic production of fossil fuels, we are seeing prices climb to levels never seen before. Before his latest Executive Order prices had climbed about 60c in Minnesota. Now they are expected to rise even more. The issue requires bold action, and even the billionaire who made his fortune on renewable energy, Musk, has called for Biden to turn on the taps.
Minnesotans need tax relief, and slashing a burdensome tax like this may be a good start. The Senate GOP has proposed using $3.5 billion of the surplus to cut the lower income tax rate from 5.35% to 2.8%. Senate Republicans have also proposed to exempt all Social Security income from state taxes, which would use $539 million of the current surplus. Minnesotans don’t just need a few dollars back at the pump, they need substantive reform that puts their money back into their pockets.
Thank you for being engaged in your government,
Jeremy Munson
State Representative, 23B
Contact:
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact my office or me. We are still attempting to provide regular contact remotely, so if you have other needs, please email my Legislative Assistant, Grayson, at Grayson.mcnew@house.mn.
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