“Tax-to-Benefit Ratio” Favorable for Minnesota Businesses

by | Jun 6, 2016

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...

Business Share of Total Minnesota Taxes Below U.S. Average

by | Jun 3, 2016

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...

Mid-Week Reads: China and Student Loan Debt

by | Jun 1, 2016

Every week, North Star will take some time out of our schedules to bring you our favorite reads from the past week. Jeff Van Wychen China’s Twilight Years China’s economy–which until recently appeared to be an unstoppable juggernaut–will be...

Indexing Cigarette Taxes is Smart Public Policy

by | Jun 1, 2016

The per pack cigarette tax in Minnesota is indexed (or adjusted annually) based on the change in the average cigarette retail price. As a result of indexing, the tax on a pack of cigarettes has risen from $2.83 in 2014 to $3.00 per pack in 2016 and will likely...

A Fresh Take on Business Taxes

by | May 26, 2016

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...