Jun 16, 2009 10:50 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Not Raising Taxes, But Still Paying
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty single-handedly sliced $300 in state help for cities and counties. He cut more than $230 million from health and welfare programs, and higher education is taking a $100 million hit.
All this money trouble isn't unique to Minnesota, but the governor's solution is. Unlike lawmakers in nearly 30 other states, he's not raising taxes.
However, that doesn't mean our families won't be paying more.
Minnesota's got a reputation as a high tax state, but it all depends on which list or combination of taxes you figure; income tax ranks
10th in the nation, but sales tax ranks 35th.
And you might be surprised how long it has been since Minnesota actually raised those 'big' taxes. It was 1991 --- the same year "Terminator 2" topped the box office, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, now the governor of California, a state that was, at that time, facing the country's biggest deficit.
That's the last time Minnesota's income tax rate went up to 8.5 percent. It's been
going down ever since to 7.85 percent.
There's MORE.
You've been paying a 6.5 percent sales tax at every cash register you visit since 1994. Starting July 1, it goes up to 6.875 percent because voters last year passed a constitutional amendment to raise the sales tax for arts and conservation programs.
There have been two big tax hikes in just the last 2 years.
A phased in 10-cent a gallon gas tax hike went into effect a year ago. That was vetoed by the governor, but the veto was overridden by the legislature.
And a 75-cent cigarette tax hike in 2007 that the governor proposed and signed but which he called a "health impact fee."
However, the biggest tax hike in Minnesota in the last 10 years is the one that hits us where we live. Literally. Local
property taxes across the state have gone up
more than 60 percent.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources for this Reality Check click on the links below.
Minnesota Revenue FAQs
Minnesota Tax Rankings
Minnesota Tax Handbook, 2008 Edition
Minnesota Property Tax Revenue, FY 2009
Overview Of Minnesota Property Taxes
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