Residents offer their ideas for property tax relief
DFL lawmakers spent two months asking the public for ideas on how to lower property taxes.
The chairman of the House subcommittee on property taxes asked Minnesotans back in January for their input. Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth, set up a Web page where the owners of homes, farms, businesses and lake cabins could submit proposals for holding down property taxes.
The lawmakers then rolled their favorite suggestions into a bill. Tuesday, the citizens whose suggestions were chosen got a chance to sell their ideas to the House Tax Committee.
Marquart says a few people suggested the abolishment of state government. But out of 650 responses, he says there were also many practical proposals worth considering.
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One provision would delay a portion of tax payments on seasonal and recreational property. Another would create a lower tax classification for vacant property in rural areas.
"I always felt, and truly believe, that the strength of any property tax relief effort that we put together was going to rely on the amount of input and comments we got from citizens. And so this is the result of that," Marquart said.
The six ideas included in the bill represent modest, low-cost tweaks in the tax system rather than dramatic shifts in state policy.
One provision would delay a portion of tax payments on seasonal and recreational property. Another would create a lower tax classification for vacant property in rural areas.
Minneapolis resident Kathleen Stolte suggested increasing the property tax credit available to disabled homeowners.
"We disabled homeowners in Minnesota simply cannot increase our fixed incomes by just going out and getting better paying jobs to keep up with our tax burden. We need this law amended to level the playing field, so we can continue living independently," said Stolte.
The legislation would also allow some homeowners to keep up to $75,000 in home improvements off their home's assessed value for 10 years.
Another provision would give homeowners three years to file for property tax refunds. The current deadline is in mid-August, the year after the taxes were paid.
Roger Urban of Eagan offered that suggestion after learning he was among an estimated 350,000 Minnesotans who don't file for the refunds they're eligible to receive.
"There's a massive communications problem here. So, how to fix it? Well, the best way would be to eliminate the separate filing altogether. Put the tax refund on the income tax form as a line item. I don't know if that's feasible," said Urban.
Only one proposal in the bill is facing opposition. Lobbyists representing cities and counties said local governments could face some fiscal problems if lawmakers allow property owners to pay their taxes monthly, rather than the larger twice-a-year payments.
Republicans are also supporting the citizen input. Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, says the more ideas on the table, the better.
"Obviously our goal, which is a bipartisan goal, is to provide property tax relief. And I don't think there's going to be any one way to do that. There's going to be multiple ways to do it," said Lanning. "And what we're going to have to figure out are what combination of ways might we provide the best, most effective relief."
Members of the House Tax Committee will consider the citizen proposals in the coming weeks, as they finalize their larger omnibus tax bill. House DFL leaders say their overall target is $535 million in property tax relief.
