Republicans: Spending and tax bills filled with provisions Dayton wanted
"It's an indisputable fact that if he vetoes these bills, he will be inflicting harm and chaos on literally millions of Minnesotans," said Rep.
Dayton has been resolute in vowing to veto both a tax bill and a hefty catchall bill with nearly 1,000 pages of spending and policy changes; he has two weeks in which to decide for sure. Dayton cited a long list of what he called examples of
A measure to protect seniors in nursing homes was all but written by the nursing home industry, Dayton alleged. Pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids will be subject to no new taxes or fees that Dayton and a bipartisan group of lawmakers hoped would force them to help pay for the consequences of the opioid epidemic.
The corporate income tax rate was cut in the tax bill, along with income tax reductions for the state's two lowest income tiers. Neither bill contained one of Dayton's top requests:
"I've never seen a session this badly mismanaged. I've never seen a session less transparent. I've never seen a session more beholden to special interests," Dayton said Sunday.
The governor was in
On the spending side, the 1,000-page bill includes provisions he asked for, while a veto would create difficulties for various state agencies.
Nearly
A fix for the
Knoblach said the
But there remains a list of items Dayton finds concerning. For instance, one measure would effectively prevent the state from expanding its MinnesotaCare health insurance program.
DFLers contended that they had little time to make informed decisions about the wide-ranging bill; the final version -- running the length of a weighty biography -- was released just hours before the
A veto of the tax bill, meanwhile, would likely mean a chaotic tax filing season next year. State taxes are based on federal taxable income, and a veto would mean Minnesotans would have to use
If Dayton signs the tax bill, state taxpayers in the two lowest income tiers would see cuts: It reduces the 5.35 percent rate to 5.3 percent and the 7.05 percent tax rate to 6.95 percent for tax years 2018 and 2019, and to 5.3 percent and 6.85 percent for later tax years.
The tax bill includes relief for the city of
Dayton called this cash infusion -- along with provisions that would grant school districts more flexibility to spend money they already have -- a "phony" proposal that would not help schools facing shortfalls.
He also complained that the bill provides too much relief to the wealthy while protecting corporations from fair taxes.
Staff writer
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