(Alexandria, VA) – The 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has given Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty a “thumbs-up” this week for embracing tax and budgetary reforms for the coming year. In his State of the State address last Thursday, Gov. Pawlenty called for tax cuts on businesses and a limit on the growth in government spending. NTU has more than 7,000 members in Minnesota.
Gov. Pawlenty’s Jobs Creation Bill includes a 20 percent reduction in the corporate tax rate, a 20 percent exclusion from taxation for small businesses, and a smaller capital gains tax burden. In addition, his proposed spending cap would limit state outlays to the amount of revenue collected in the previous budget biennium.
“Tim Pawlenty is one of the few Governors learning the right lessons from the current economic crisis,” said NTU State Government Affairs Manager Joshua Culling. “He recognizes that this is a problem brought on by the consequences of high taxes coupled with the unstoppable growth in the size of state government. The Governor’s reforms provide a chance for Minnesota to pave a responsible path to prosperity.”
Minnesota’s business tax climate ranks in the bottom 10 nationally, and it features the 3rd-highest corporate income tax rate in the country. Between 1960 and 2003, state spending jumped over 20 percent per budget biennium.
“Had Minnesota enacted Gov. Pawlenty’s spending cap in 1960, the state would have saved an average of $900 million per budget cycle,” Culling continued. “The Legislature should move swiftly to enact both the cap and the business tax cuts that will deliver exactly what Minnesotans are looking for in 2010 – jobs and economic security.”
NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit citizen organization founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. Note: For more analysis and commentary about state budgets go to ntu.org.