No negotiations, but panel airs budget beefs
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There were no private budget meetings today between DFL Governor Mark Dayton and GOP legislative leaders, even though a potential government shutdown is just three weeks away.
Republicans instead held a public meeting of the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy to try to poke holes in Dayton's proposal to raise income taxes on the top two percent of earners. Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, chair of the Senate tax committee, questioned the need for a tax increase.
"I mean it's one thing to take all those risks and put our economy in jeopardy," Ortman said. "But to do it for no reason other than the fact that the governor just wants what looks like a political win is not going to be done. It's not going to happen."
Dayton's revenue commissioner, Myron Frans, defended the tax increase as a necessary step in difficult times. Frans said no one wants to increase taxes unless they have to.
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