The Minnesota Citizens' Forum
By Michael Khoo
May 13, 1999
With the legislative session nearly over and the major tax and spending issues
decided, elected officials now have something to show for their efforts. Last
night, House Speaker Steve Sviggum, Senate Majority Leader Roger
Moe, and Finance Commissioner Pam Wheelock were electronically linked to
communities across Minnesota to discuss the results of this year's session. The
Citizens' Forum event was sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio, the Star
Tribune, and KTCA television.
DURING LAST YEAR'S ELECTIONS, the state's burgeoning budget
surpluses were a hot topic. Republicans, DFLers, and the Reform Party
Governor all entered office intent on returning the money and providing some
sort of tax relief for Minnesotans. The negotiating came down to the wire,
but Senator Moe says the budget deal reached earlier this week is one all sides
can live with. " And like any package you put together, there are some things that you
like, some things that you might not like, but overall, it's a decent package,"Moe said.
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Steve Sviggum
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A decent package, perhaps, but one that's not completely gelled.
For example, the compromise targets $1.6 billion in tax relief over the next
biennium. Roughly two-thirds of that is already designated for across-the-board, half-percentage point cuts in the income tax. The details of how
to apportion the remaining money have yet to be determined. Speaker Sviggum
says the money could be used for additional income-tax relief. But that's not
all.
"And everything is in the mix," said Sviggum. "But in the mix, I need to tell you,
there's going to be some property-tax relief or reform in there. We have the
sick tax -- the provider tax -- to look at, which I think is a very erroneous
tax. The marriage penalty needs to be looked at."
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Roger Moe
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As if those options weren't enough to sort out, Governor Ventura
heavily favors reducing automobile license-plate registration fees. And
according to Finance Commissioner Pam Wheelock, he may be a little cooler
towards major property tax cuts." I think the Governor is certainly supportive of a property tax
relief plan, but we've provided significant relief to property tax in the last
couple of years," Wheelock maintained.
"And I think what he would like to do is, before we pump more
money into providing relief to a structure that really doesn't make any sense
anymore, we should fix that first, and then talk about providing relief as part
of fixing that system."
The Minnesota Citizens' Forum, sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio, the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis and KTCA-TV, provides a vehicle for people to engage in a discussion of public issues. Through these forums, reporters and editors were able to focus candidates during 1998 on issues that are most important to our listeners, viewers, and readers. With the Ventura administration underway, the Minnesota Citizens Forum will allow elected officials to stay in touch with the opinions of the voters.
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