New Year's Resolution Status: Kept

Last December, House Republicans announced their New Year's Resolution for Economic Opportunity at a State Capitol press conference:

"Our resolution – and we are absolutely intent on keeping it – is that Republicans are not going to make it more expensive to be a job provider in Minnesota,” said House Republican Minority Leader Kurt Zellers.

“When a small business owner tells you he will be hit by the Democrats’ income tax increase, it gets your attention,” said Representative Keith Downey (Edina) of the Democrats’ plan to create a new 9-percent income tax bracket. 

Once again during this year's legislative session, Democrats proposed raising taxes, as they have in the past.  House Republicans kept to their resolution and protected Minnesota businesses and families from higher taxes.  

The purpose of the Republicans' resolution was to ease the "pandemic of uncertainty" that lingers over businesses -- uncertainty created by government, as Ron Scherer of the Christian Science Monitor points out:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents larger corporations, says a lot of the uncertainty for its members is Washington-generated.

“Tell me what my taxes will be as a company,” says Bruce Josten, the chamber’s executive vice president for government affairs in Washington. “No one can tell me.”

 And to no one's surprise, Obamacare isn't helping.

It’s not just taxes, says Josten. Businesses are still unsure how much the new health-care reform bill will cost them, he says. “Many companies are finding their premiums are rising,” he says. “Companies like some certainty on fixed costs.”

House Republicans also offered ideas to send a different message to job creators: Government will get out of your pocket and off your back so you can expand.

Minnesota Budget Woes Caused by Overspending

SAINT PAUL – In a joint press conference today, House and Senate
Republican leadership of the Minnesota Legislature reacted to the
February Budget Forecast which projects that Minnesota is facing a $994
million budget deficit for the current biennium and a $5.9 billion
deficit for 2012-13.   

“Today’s budget announcement confirms what I have repeatedly said
that Minnesota’s government has a spending problem, not a revenue
problem” said Minnesota Senate Republican Leader David Senjem
(R-Rochester).  

“Our current budget size and deficit is a result of insatiable
spending and expansion of government bureaucracy and programs.  The
answer to solving the budget deficit is not to raise taxes, but to help
create a business friendly environment that will stimulate the creation
of private sector jobs,” said Senator Senjem.

Since 1960, Minnesota has increased the size of its budget by an
average of over 17.7 percent in each biennium.  Under current
projections, state revenues will grow by almost 10 percent over the next
years, while spending will grow by almost 24 percent.

"Government spending is expected to outpace GDP by 8 percent, that’s
not a recipe for economic expansion,” said House Republican Leader
Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove).

“We have to restrain spending to a level that taxpayers can afford
and focus on how to encourage private sector job creation, not public
sector expansion.  We also know that nearly three-fourths of the deficit
is the result of personal income declines.  We absolutely cannot double
down on that bad news by raising people’s taxes," concluded
Representative Zellers.

Watch the press conference here:

Video courtesy: House TV

Friday Media Availability

House Republican Minority Leader Kurt Zellers and Representative Laura Brod met with the Capitol press corps Friday to discuss next week.

Video courtesy of House TV

MN House GOP: Put Minnesotans Back to Work!

St. Paul, MN – Representative Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) made a motion today to suspend House rules and immediately pass jobs legislation to thaw the pandemic of uncertainty plaguing job providers throughout Minnesota.  HF 363 would gradually phase-out Minnesota’s corporate income tax, working to attract new businesses and reward existing businesses for staying in Minnesota.  House Democrats voted down the motion.

“Since adjourning the rhetoric out of the legislature has created a damper on job creators,” said Buesgens. “It has led to the paralysis of job creators and helped create a $1.2 billion hole in our budget.”

“It is necessary to show that we value our businesses in the state of Minnesota, to tell them we need them and want them to grow,” said Buesgens. He described the bill as “the right and bipartisan thing to do.”

HF 363 phases-out the corporate tax rate by one percent annually and Alternative Minimum Tax at the same rate. This would provide much needed relief to area businesses hit hard by the economic downturn and encourage expansion, providing more jobs for Minnesotans.

“We are looking to create a business-friendly environment in Minnesota that would help bring in new jobs,” said Buesgens. “Employers have had to play things close to the vest and not expand because the climate is so uncertain. This bill would be a step in the right direction.”

Rep. Paul Kohls (R-Victoria) seconded the motion and felt the ideas laid out in the bill were something both parties could come together on.

“They are not Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative; they are pro-business, pro-growth and pro-jobs,” he said. “Let’s put more Minnesotans back to work.”

Rep. Laura Brod (R-New Prague) also voiced her support for Buesgens’ motion.

“We want to make sure we are moving toward prosperity,” she said. “We aren’t looking for work because of government spending, but work created by job creators that stands the test of time.”

The government needs to take a step back and reduce the tax burden on businesses in this state. Employers are cautious and not bringing on new employees because the climate is so uncertain. Rep. Buesgens believes this bill would help change that.

“A billion dollar borrowing bill that creates short-term jobs is not the answer to all our problems,” he said. “We need private sector job expansion, not further government intervention.”

Watch video of House Republican Minority Leader Kurt Zellers speaking on behalf of the jobs bill:

Listen to audio from members' floor speeches:

Rep. Dean Urdahl 

Rep. Laura Brod

Rep. Steve Gottwalt

MedCity News: DFL bill "could ruin the best chances for an angel investment tax credit to pass in years"

House Republicans tried passing the angel investment tax credit in 2009 against DFL opposition. 

Now DFL Representative Ann Lenczewski is back with a new bill that the MedCity News is not fond of:

Just when proponents of the much-needed, but long elusive angel investment tax credit dared to hope, Rep. Ann Lenczewski is crashing the party. Or, depending on whom you ask, killing the state Democratic (DFL) party.

Read the whole article here.