Taxes are not increasing as letter writer said

Published Thursday, April 26, 2007

This is in response to a recent letter to the editor from Henry Merickel. Much of his letter was inaccurate and misguided.

As far as business taxes go, I voted to slightly increase business property taxes to relieve some of the outstanding pressure Minnesota homeowners have felt over the past four years.

From 2002 to 2006, property taxes on residential homes in Minnesota increased an average of 12.3 percent per year.

Taxes on business property increased an average of 2.9 percent each year during that same period.

My vote restores some fairness to our property tax system.

Homeowners statewide will see an average 5.8 percent decrease in their property tax bills because of the vote I took; without this bill, you could expect your property taxes to go up another 6 to 10 percent next year.

Mr. Merickel also misleads readers about government spending.

Minnesota’s price of government — the average percentage of a person’s income collected through state and local taxes and fees — actually has dropped in the past 10 years.

In the mid-1990s, the average person contributed 17.5 cents per dollar earned toward taxes and fees.

Today, that percentage is 16.5 and it’s projected to drop to 15.9 percent by 2009. That’s $5 billion less a year being collected now than in the 1990s.

In conclusion, I have no problem with the people who disagree with me on issues, but I do ask that people take the time to get their facts straight, or give me a call so we can have a conversation on the issues.

Ask your friends and neighbors, those who take the time to write or call have received prompt replies and good constituent services. That is what I promised during the campaign, and I take great pride in serving my constituents.

Thank you for allowing me to represent you.

Sen. Dan Skogen - St. Paul