On April 28, President Joe Biden unveiled “The American Families Plan,” a proposal to spend $1.8 trillion on programs targeting families and children. Among other things, the plan calls for…
Even with a forecast budget surplus of $1.6 billion for the 2022-2023 biennium and $4.6 billion coming from the federal government in the latest round of COVID-19 relief money, some…
In 2018, households in the lowest income decile paid an effective rate of 2.77% on tobacco taxes compared to the 0.05% paid by those in the top income decile.
The Cloquet City Council has set the stage to stop using so-called project labor agreements that in effect guaranteed union participation in city construction projects.
Last month I noted that Minnesota’s state government was planning to tax federal government loans made to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): The PPP loaned businesses money, a…
In November 2020, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) forecasted a $636 million deficit for the 2020-2021 biennium and a $1.2 billion deficit for the 2022-2023 biennium. Things turned around in…
On April 13, the St. Paul City Council approved a plan to “funnel” $46.9 million in property taxes to affordable housing projects on the former Ford Plant Site. The city…
Lower tax rates incentivize economic activity and therefore expand the tax base. High tax rates do the opposite
Minnesota is a high-tax state — this is not news. When looking at our state’s tax burden altogether, we are among the top 10 in the nation. Minnesota ranks high on…
Two years ago, Gov. Walz proposed raising Minnesota’s gas tax by 20¢ — a 70 percent hike. The proposal did not pass. House representatives have brought another proposal to raise the…
Legislators returned this week from their Easter/Passover break and things really started moving at the Capitol. The House and Senate rolled out massive spending bills and began moving them through…
The Goose Creek Rest Stop: more wasteful government spending in Minnesota.
We’re getting there. Last month, Gov. Walz released his revised budget proposal for the 2022-2023 biennium. It was an improvement on his January effort, ditching a proposed estate tax hike…
NLX shows how pork barrel projects get sidetracked but rarely derailed. Biden's $2 trillion grab bag of infrastructure projects before Congress gives meritless projects like NLX new life.
Last week, the Star Tribune reported: Thousands of Minnesota families living in poverty will see a boost in monthly relief payments and will no longer have to meet cumbersome paperwork…
Joe Biden just unveiled his $2 Trillion infrastructure plan — The American Jobs plan. Among other things, he is proposing to raise the federal corporate income tax rate to 28%.…
Just recently, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study analyzing how financing increased spending (of 5 to 10 percent of GDP annually) through tax hikes would affect the economy.…
Yesterday, I wrote about some of the research on the effects of corporate taxes on entrepreneurship. But the positive observation that higher rates of corporate taxation lead to lower rates…
At a rountable last Friday, Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced its aim of marketing the state as the premier hub to launch a new business. “We…
Last week, we released our new paper ‘The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2020‘. In it, we argued that Minnesota’s economy is being held back by its excessively high taxes. Chief…
Yesterday, I testified in the House Committee on Taxes in opposition to HF 1689, a bill brought by Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL) which would abolish the ‘stepped up’ basis of…
Earlier today, the Star Tribune reported that Hennepin County on Tuesday became the only public-sector government organization in the Midwest to offer its employees a minimum wage of $20 an…
Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives held a hearing session for a bill to create a fifth individual income tax bracket with a 12.45% rate. In my testimony regarding this…
Gov. Tim Walz is still holding on to his tax increases even with a huge surplus.