Politics & Government
Largest Tax Increase in 30 Years: Letter to the Editor
"Before taking another dime from our hardworking taxpayers, shouldn't we go line-by-line through our budget and cut the waste?" says Woodbury resident Kelly Fenton.
On Wednesday evening, April 24, 2013, while you were tucking your children into bed, the Minnesota House Democrats passed a $2.6 billion tax increase. This breaks down to $547 for every man, woman, and child.
This is the largest tax increase for Minnesota in over 30 years.
In short, the Democrats raised taxes on each and every hardworking Minnesota taxpayer. Everyone will pay more for alcohol, tobacco, sports memorabilia, car rentals and more. Despite promising during last fall’s campaign to “tax the rich,” Democrats have proven themselves unable to say no to any and all special interests who want to grow the size of government.
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What’s worse, this tax bill raises income taxes on over 30 percent of Minnesotans. You read that correctly: because of adjustments in the tax brackets, Minnesotans making as little as $25,000 will be vaulted into a higher tax bracket, forcing even low and middle-class Minnesotans to pay more. I bet you didn’t hear much about that on the campaign trail.
As a result, the hardworking taxpayers of Minnesota will be forced to fund the Democrats’ insatiable need for more spending.
There has been a lot of talk about fairness, and making sure the wealthy pay “a little bit more” to fund priorities, but is it really fair to ask struggling families who have been in a car accident to pay more for their rental car to get them through the weekend? Is it fair to ask children around this state to pay more for baseball cards and sports jerseys while Democrats are spending $300,000 to build a toilet on a lake?
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Minnesotans can’t afford the Democrat’s tax plan. As a citizen, I support a more efficient and effective government, not a more expensive government. Before taking another dime from our hardworking taxpayers, shouldn’t we go line-by-line through our budget and cut the waste?
This tax increase is a step backward for Minnesota’s recovering economy, and will do nothing to create a healthy economy or more jobs!
—Kelly Fenton, Woodbury
