More taxes, more spending means more problems for Minnesotans
After such a tough year for Minnesotans, state lawmakers ought to be doing everything in their power to make things better. Instead, they’re threatening to make things worse.
Instead of enacting policies that would put money back into the hands of the people who earn it, the state House voted to raise billions in new and higher taxes and fees — gas taxes, sales taxes, tab fees, business taxes, and personal income taxes.
And it’s not like state government needs the money. As Jason Flohrs, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Minnesota, writes in a new op-ed in the Duluth News Tribune, this latest tax-and-spend spree comes “at a time when the state is projecting a surplus, when billions in federal assistance are on the way, and when families and businesses are still struggling to recover from government-imposed shutdowns.”
State revenues are at an all-time high and state government has all the resources it needs. It’s families, workers, and small businesses that need an assist. Not a handout, but simply being allowed to keep more of what they earn.
“We’ve all had to tighten our belts, innovate, and do more with less since this pandemic began,” Flohrs writes, continuing:
We should demand government officials do the same. Rather than tax hikes, lawmakers should focus on getting our economy back on track for the long term and prioritize tax relief, regulatory reform, and spending restraint that empower individuals and businesses to generate economic growth and opportunity.
Read the whole thing here.
