Citizens can weigh in on Minnesota budget choices

Citizens can weigh in on Minnesota budget choices

By Laura Kalambokidis, University of Minnesota Extension

How should Minnesota spend its budget surplus? Should the state increase local government aid, provide property tax relief or rebate some taxes? Which spending priorities are most important?

Minnesota Public Radio’s “Budget Balancer” (www.mpr.org/budgetbalancer) provides everyone with Internet access the chance to answer these questions. Warning: Making these choices can be both thought-provoking and humbling. Still, I encourage you to give it a shot.

Before you dig in, consider some criteria that matter when it comes to taxes and spending: fairness, simplicity, impact on the economy, and effects on your goals for Minnesota.

Fairness: Fairness is a subjective matter. For some, fairness means everyone is treated the same. Those who believe in progressive taxes believe that fairness happens when taxes are paid by those most able to pay. Still others believe that taxes are fair when those who benefit the most from government services also pay the most.

Simplicity and transparency: Simple tax systems reduce the amount of money we spend administering the system and getting people to comply. A transparent tax system ensures that taxpayers are aware of their contribution to the government. Be careful, though. The simplest tax system of all is one where every individual pays a uniform, fixed amount. While transparent and simple, many would say such a tax is not fair. Getting rid of the provisions that complicate the system is never easy, because each provision is (or once was) justified by some policy goal.