While the DFL is voting to raise taxes, the surplus continues to soar

Since Minnesota Management and Budget’s (MMB) announcement in November 2021, Minnesota’s historic $7.7 billion surplus has only grown. According to the most recent update from MMB,

Minnesota’s net general fund receipts for February and March 2023 are now estimated to total $3.982 billion, $176 million (4.6 percent) more than forecast in the February 2023 Budget and Economic Forecast. Net receipts exceeded the forecast for individual income and other taxes. Net receipts from sales and corporate taxes were lower than forecast. Refunds for all major tax types were higher than expected

Individual income taxes contributed to most of the increased revenue, coming in at $155 million higher than forecast.

The Minnesota state government is awash with cash, and that money keeps coming in. Yet despite this, DFL leaders in St. Paul are still trying to raise taxes on Minnesotans. Just yesterday, the Minnesota House Taxes Committee voted along party lines to pass their omnibus tax bill which contains about $1 billion in income tax hikes.

At his State of the State address yesterday, Gov. Tim Walz said that the government exists not to meddle in your life, but to make it easier. The Minnesota state government, however, imposes some of the highest tax burdens in the country — making life harder, not easier for Minnesotans.

With a big and growing surplus, shouldn’t Walz and the DFL push for meaningful tax cuts that provide relief to all taxpayers, thereby making life easier?