Republicans in Minnesota Legislature present tax relief plan

House and Senate GOP leaders unveiled their tax relief plan, which they’ve dubbed the “Give It Back” plan, that includes permanent tax cuts for the elderly, property owners and parents.

The plan outlines using $5 billion of the state surplus for one-time rebate checks and $3.5 billion for one-time child tax credits over two years. Their plan calls for the checks to be worth $1,250 for single filers and $2,500 for joint filers, and the tax credits to be $1,800 per child under the age of 18, without any restrictions on its purpose.

Additionally, Republicans are continuing to push for a rollback of Social Security taxes. Republicans hope to eliminate the tax on Social Security, which they say would provide almost 500,000 Minnesotans with an average tax reduction of $1,277.

MN GOP Minority Leader Mark Johnson says Republicans will unveil tax proposals on Tuesday that will reflect “we want to help Minnesotans not Minnesota state government.” They will continue to push for total repeal of Social Security taxes. pic.twitter.com/ZkGNEL35DU

— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) February 27, 2023

It comes a day after 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reported on Minnesota’s latest budget and economic forecast, which showed a $17.5 billion surplus. That was the first prediction in nearly two decades to factor in inflation after state lawmakers recently approved legislation requiring inflation to be factored into the forecasts again.

Some Republicans worried that including inflation in the estimate would lead to more government spending, while DFL lawmakers pushed to include inflation in the estimate from the state budget office. The full budget and economic forecast can be found here.

In announcing their plan Tuesday morning, House and Senate GOP leaders cited the large budget surplus and bipartisan agreement on a couple of the tax plans they support as reasons why now is the right time for their tax relief plan.

“We know with a $17.5 billion surplus … this is a perfect opportunity for us to come together and give the relief that Minnesotans need and deserve at this time,” House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) said.

“If we don’t give tax relief to Minnesotans now, when would we?” Demuth added.

Their plan also includes $1,250 rebate checks for single Minnesota tax filers or $2,500 for joint filers, an idea that Gov. Tim Walz proposed last year and said he’d support again this year. While Republicans didn’t voice much support for the plan during the 2022 session, leaders said Tuesday that it wasn’t that they didn’t support the checks but wanted it paired with permanent tax cuts.

While Republicans are in the minority in both chambers, meaning their proposals won’t be approved without support from at least some DFL lawmakers, caucus leaders said some DFL lawmakers also ran for office on promises of tax relief, specifically on Social Security benefits.

“So, there’s not only pressure on us to deliver for the people of Minnesota, there’s pressure on them as well, and if they cannot do it, we will remind the voters of Minnesota that they failed to do that when they were in control of everything,” Sen. Bill Weber (R-Luverne) said.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) and Demuth added that Republicans consider a bonding bill important and want to pass a bonding bill. However, they added that getting some of the surplus back to Minnesotans is a priority for them.

Watch Tuesday’s full press conference in the video player below.