Estate Tax Break Increases Regressivity

by | May 23, 2017

Conservatives in Minnesota continue to push for a dramatic reduction in Minnesota’s estate tax, which would almost exclusively benefit the state’s wealthiest residents (who already enjoy below average effective tax rates). Implementing the estate tax reductions...

The Merits of Expanding Edina’s New Tobacco Law

by | May 22, 2017

The Edina City Council recently passed an ordinance that raises the minimum age of tobacco sales up to 21 years old, making it the first city in Minnesota to do so. This proposal has already gained traction with other Minnesota cities, and could eventually be...

Property Tax Break Favors Large, Metro Businesses

by | May 18, 2017

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...

Local Control Benefits Minnesotans Statewide

by | May 18, 2017

Executive Summary Conservatives and large corporations are attempting to pass preemption legislation – an innocuous name for laws to restrict local communities from choosing greater benefits or wage laws than state minimum standards, like earned sick and safe time,...

Beware the Trojan Tax Cut

by | May 15, 2017

As Homer tells it, a besieged Troy eagerly welcomed the present of a large wooden horse as a herald of good times to come. This “gift,” however, actually led to the ruin of the proud city. Minnesotans should take this cautionary tale to heart before they embrace the...

Measles Outbreak Demonstrates Why Vaccines Matter

by | May 12, 2017

Minnesota is receiving national attention for its measles outbreak. As of May 11th, 49 children in Minnesota have already contracted measles in 2017. This is an astonishingly high number: from 2001 to 2016, there were only 46 cases of measles, and that included an...

Conservative Spending Claims Don’t Add Up

by | May 10, 2017

A recent chart from the Republican Party of Minnesota, reproduced below, purports to show that Minnesota’s general fund budget is growing about 12 percent faster than the state’s economy and about 25 percent faster than the rate of inflation from 2012 to 2017. The...

Minnesota’s Falling Price of Government

by | May 8, 2017

Dubbed as “an index of what taxpayers can afford” by the business community, Minnesota’s “price of government” is projected to reach an all-time low before the end of the state’s current budget planning horizon, according to non-partisan staff at Minnesota Management...

Minnesota Taxes Much Less Regressive

by | May 4, 2017

Minnesota’s state and local tax system remains regressive, with lower- and middle-income households generally paying a larger percentage of their income in state and local taxes than higher-income households, although the degree of tax regressivity is modest and...

On the Disadvantages of Switching to the Federal Exchange

by | May 3, 2017

MNsure, Minnesota’s state-based health exchange, has been a target of conservatives since its founding in 2013, including several attempts to transition to a federally-administered exchange. This raises the question of whether or not a federal exchange is in any way...