SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House Property Tax Division, chaired by Rep. Dave Lislegard (DFL – Aurora) approved the 2023 Property Tax Division Report. The report incorporates a robust package of solutions to cut property taxes, including direct assistance for homeowners and renters, along with significant new investments in local communities, including Local Government Aid and County Program Aid.
“All session long in our committee, I’ve had a vision to ‘peel back the onion’ to gain a greater understanding of why property taxes are on the rise and determine the tools we can use to positively impact people’s lives,” said Rep. Lislegard, the chief author of the legislation. “I’m incredibly proud of the investments we’re making within this legislation to cut property taxes while strengthening the vitality of communities across our great state.”
The report fundamentally reforms the Renter’s Property Tax Refund, also known as the Renter’s Credit, incorporating the refund onto a filer’s income taxes. This change would result in additional refunds totaling $378.6 million over the coming biennium.
The legislation expands refunds homeowners would receive under the Homestead Credit Refund program, also known as the “circuit breaker,” targeting assistance to those who would benefit the most. $41.8 million in additional property tax refunds would result from this change in the upcoming FY 24-25 biennium, with another $84.9 million in the FY 26-27 biennium.
Communities are facing increasing costs to deliver critical public services while keeping property taxes in check. To address this problem, the bill makes a groundbreaking new investment of $100 million for Local Government Aid and $100 million for County Program Aid. It also modernizes the LGA distribution formula while indexing it to inflation.
Among other actions, the division report also includes a variety of changes regarding local taxes, increases payments to counties under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program by $9 million, establishes $32 million of new state aid for Soil & Water Conservation Districts, and creates Tourism Improvement Districts.
The full House Taxes Committee will soon consider the report for inclusion in the 2023 Omnibus Taxes Bill.
Documents and other information are available on the division webpage. Video of the hearing will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.