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Q: What do you foresee as a key issue that will impact the Rochester area business community in the 2022 legislative session? A: The Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax increase poses a major concern for businesses. Employers, through no fault of their own, are now being forced to pay to replenish Minnesota’s UI Trust Fund. With a $7.7 billion surplus and more than $1 billion in unspent COVID relief funds, there is no reason for the government to ask businesses to shoulder this burden. The legislature needs to act to prevent this unnecessary tax increase. Q: What are your expectations for the 2022 legislative session? Are there trends the business community should be aware of? A: A $7.7 billion surplus means that all tax increases are off the table for the next session. As businesses continue to rebuild after a year of shutdowns, and as they face growing inflation and a supply chain crisis, the government needs to work to help businesses thrive once again. Government should not have a surplus of $7.7 billion worth of hardworking Minnesota families’ and businesses’ money. Now is the time to implement tax relief to help all Minnesotans. Q: What do you foresee as a key issue that will impact the Rochester area business community in the 2022 legislative session? A: We have a record state budget surplus – $7.7 billion! Driving questions are: Do we spend one-time money on long-term expenses? Do we empower Minnesotans and improve our economic competitiveness through sustainable, long-term relief to taxpayers and small businesses? As Chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, I will champion serious, permanent, broad-based tax relief that empowers Minnesotans and drives economic growth. • Eliminating Minnesota taxation of social security benefits. Only 13 states tax them. • Relief to brick-and-mortar businesses, the bread and butter of our main streets and our tax base. Minnesota adds an additional (30% on average) misnamed Commercial/Industrial General Levy onto their property tax. It goes to the state general fund, not your local schools, counties, and cities. The pandemic wreaked havoc on our main streets – they deserve relief. • Repay the $1.1 Billion we borrowed from the federal government to keep our unemployment program afloat during the pandemic. Q: What are your expectations for the 2022 legislative session? Are there trends the business community should be aware of? A : I am cautiously hopeful. We’ve been able to work well together across party lines to get some good things done, and I’m optimistic that will be the case again. Some of the surplus money is one time and some is structural. It will require a careful balance to make broad changes to support families and empower and strengthen our economy- without putting our state on a budget cliff when the one-time money is gone. Let me hear from you about what you see as the best ways to empower Minnesotans, build our economy, and ensure good jobs are available across our state.
Sen. Carla Nelson District 26
Rep. Nels Pierson District 26B
| Advantage Magazine 6
January 2022
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