Posts Tagged ‘business taxes’
Minnesota Business Taxes Low Relative to Benefits Received
The public in general and businesses in particular understandably pay close attention to the taxes they pay. However, the other side of the coin—the benefit derived from the expenditure of tax dollars—is frequently overlooked. This makes about as much sense as focusing on the price of the new car you’re buying, but ignoring the quality…
Read MoreDebunking Minnesota Economic and Fiscal Policy Myths
Minnesota is a land of 10,000 lakes and almost as many misconceptions about the size of government, growth in public revenue and expenditures, and performance of the state’s economy. Some of these mistaken beliefs are the result of an innocent misreading of the data, while others are the product of deliberate disinformation campaigns. The following…
Read MoreMinnesota Businesses Benefit from State & Local Taxes
It is common for businesses to complain about taxes without considering the benefits that they provide. Taxes are not collected and then buried in a hole. They are used to provide education and public safety, protect property rights, and construct and maintain public infrastructure, among other things—all services which benefit businesses. A complete comparison of…
Read MoreProperty Tax Break Favors Large, Metro Businesses
The state revenue loss resulting from changes to the state business property tax in the tax conference committee report are likely to increase rapidly over time—for reasons described in a recent North Star article—and ultimately surpass the revenue loss associated with other tax cuts in the report. As the magnitude of that tax break swells…
Read MoreHow to Succeed in Tax Rankings Without Really Trying
The conservative Tax Foundation just released the 2017 version of its State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI) and once again, Minnesota is purportedly in terrible shape. Minnesota policymakers need only follow a simple strategy to improve its ranking on the SBTCI: increase the regressivity of Minnesota’s state and local tax system by shifting a larger…
Read More“Tax-to-Benefit Ratio” Favorable for Minnesota Businesses
Attempts to rank states based on the level of business taxes rarely take into account the benefits that businesses receive from tax-funded public investments. In a report published by the Council on State Taxation (COST), analysts at Ernst & Young (EY) have filled this void by ranking states based on the level of state and…
Read MoreBusiness Share of Total Minnesota Taxes Below U.S. Average
The share of total Minnesota state and local taxes paid by businesses is comfortably below the national average, according to data compiled by Ernst & Young (EY) contained in a recent report from the Council on State Taxation (COST). In fact, Minnesota is among the bottom ten states in the nation in terms of the…
Read MoreA Fresh Take on Business Taxes
Conservatives and many business groups contend that Minnesota business taxes are high relative to other states. Apart from the dubious merit of some of these claims,* they generally do not take into account the level of economic activity that provides the base from which all taxes are paid. For example, businesses might be able to…
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