I participated in the Burnsville Chamber’s Pre-Legislative Forum on Thursday, Feb. 20. Representative Mogan, Representative Myra, Senator Carlson, and Senator Hall were also on the panel.
The first question was on federal tax conformity. Last year, the legislature passed HF6 which conformed Minnesota’s taxes to most federal taxes for tax year 2012-for those paid by April 15, 2013. The DFL House Omnibus Tax Bill did a provision to address federal conformity for future years, but that did not have Senate approval and was not in the final tax bill. This year, House Tax Chair Ann Lenczewski has introduced HF 2106 that conforms the state’s income tax to federal taxes and provides tax relief to middle-class taxpayers and businesses.
The bonding bill received attention as well. The Burnsville Chamber had supported the bonding bill last year. The bonding bill covers projects for buildings, roads, bridges, and other projects that have regional or statewide importance. The Governor’s bonding proposal invests an additional $126.3 million to finally complete state Capitol restoration process. The Capitol is one of Minnesota’s most important assets and the need for repair has been obvious for decades. I am advocating for a bonding proposal for a necessary project to improve the Red Line BRT. Interest rates are still fairly low, so this is a very good time to have a large bonding bill. It enhances assets for Minnesota and it means JOBS.
There was also spirited discussion on a minimum wage bill and some of the business-to-business taxes.