Rich Pay Fewer Taxes in Minnesota

Darn those statistics and facts. A state Revenue Department report released today shows that the tax burden in Minnesota has been shifting away from the wealthy and from businesses and towards lower and middle class families:

A state Revenue Department study presented to the Senate Tax Committee on Monday showed wealthy Minnesotans are paying a slightly smaller share of their incomes in state and local taxes, while tax burdens for middle-class households are increasing.

The biennial "tax incidence study" also showed taxes are shifting away from businesses and toward individuals.

Overall, the study projected Minnesota's state and local taxes will become somewhat more regressive by 2009. That means the percentage of income a person pays in taxes declines as his or her income rises.

This gives further ammunition to DFL'ers in the House and Senate who are proposing to begin shifting the burden back. Of course, the Governor will veto any "tax increase" that isn't called a fee. And he is happy to borrow huge sums of money to fund what he won't ask us to pay for now in tax increases. And he doesn't seem to mind that cities and schools are raises our taxes through higher real estate taxes. But he is not going to sign any bill that diminishes his prospects as a tough (but always smiling) anti-tax Republican Vice Presidential candidate.