The state shutdown is fast approaching and the negotiations between the Governor and legislative leaders are still stuck on fundamental principles. All along we have argued for some portion of the budget solution to come from new revenues in order to stave off the most damaging budget cuts.
We just received data from the Minnesota Department of Revenue on the Governor’s proposal to raise income taxes. These data project which taxpayers will pay more and how the proposal affects tax fairness across income groups. JRLC worked up this chart from the data; it shows the effective tax rates for all state and local taxes on income groups — poorest to richest, left to right, with and without the Governor’s income tax proposal.
The data show that with the proposed income tax increase, the richest 10% (tenth decile) would still not reach the rate shouldered by the middle class (fifth decile), nor the rate paid by the average household (11.5%), nor the rate paid by the vast majority of households.
ACTION: Forward this to your friends and colleagues. Print and show it to people who otherwise won’t believe it unless they see it. Clip this chart and send to your legislator. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper — express your opinion!
