April 15 is a great day to talk seriously about taxes

Minnesota businesses, like homeowners, pay property taxes to their local governments. However, unlike homeowners, they pay an extra tax that goes straight into the state’s general fund. In fact, the average business in Minnesota pays more to the state of Minnesota in property taxes than it pays separately to any of our local governments – schools, townships, cities or counties.  Whether it’s a main street retailer, a tenant in a larger building or a manufacturer in an industrial park, businesses face this tax burden whether they are profitable or not.  Since 2002, more than $10 billion has been sent from our communities to the state to pay for this extra property tax.

Businesses in Minnesota pay the second highest property taxes in the country. On top of that, the tax is on auto pilot. It increases every year without any vote of the Legislature. We have no say. Soon, this tax will take $1 billion every year out of our local economies. That’s money employers could use to invest in their employees and their businesses.

It’s hard enough for companies to grow and create jobs without taxing Minnesota job creators for the places where people work and shop too. With only fiive weeks left in the session, legislators are ready to make major decisions on taxes and spending. Now is the perfect opportunity to let them know how their decisions affect your bottom line. Tell your lawmakers to use a portion of the budget surplus to improve Minnesota’s business tax climate by reducing uncompetitive business taxes. Let’s reduce Minnesota’s extra property tax and keep that money in our home communities.  Our businesses deserve tax relief and that can be done by eliminating the automatic inflator and reducing the statewide property tax this year.