Halverson Authors Warehouse Tax Repeal

Today, the Minnesota Legislature met in a Special Session to approve necessary disaster relief for counties hit hard by storms this summer. When Minnesotans are hit by natural disasters, we come together and answered the call to help get Minnesotans back on their feet.

Over the last couple months, there has been a lot of discussion about a business-to-business warehouse tax scheduled to go into effect in April 2014. While I voted against the Tax bill that included this provision, I want to work together to find a solution. After meeting with local business leaders and constituents I authored a bill that would delay the implementation of the warehouse tax until January 2015 with a full repeal after that if there is still a surplus once our schools have been paid back.

Up until now, we’ve heard a lot about repealing the warehouse tax without any honest talk about how we pay for it. My bill is a compromise that would prevent the tax from impacting businesses or Minnesotans while also ensuring our budget remains honestly and responsibly balanced. I’m hopeful this bill can begin the serious discussion we need so that we can work together to solve this issue.

With any repeal of this tax, we have to make sure our budget remains balanced and that we pay back the debt owed to our schools. Constituents have told me that they are tired of budget gimmicks and expect our budget to be honestly balanced.

My bill will get this done, and I will continue working with the business community, constituents, and legislators on both sides of the aisle to repeal this tax during the 2014 Legislative Session.

As always, feel free contact me with any questions, concerns, or ideas.

Sincerely,

Laurie Halverson

State Representative

District 51B