Some time shortly after we're on the air tomorrow, the Minnesota Senate should be about done with dinner. The DFL senators have decided that it would like to create the highest personal income tax bracket in the nation.

The proposal to raise just shy of $1 billion in taxes over the next two years would be achieved by adding a fourth tier to Minnesota's current three-tier system. The new rate would be 9.7 percent. At least half of the proceeds would be used to offset higher education spending.

Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Tom Bakk said his Democratic colleagues rallied around the plan during a closed-door caucus Friday morning. They chose the approach over another one that would have raised income taxes across the board.

So the people who want to take your money because they won decided that the 'your' was just the families with a quarter-million of taxable income. So that won't bother you, right? Well, when the family incorporates to duck that extra 2% tax, or moves their income out of state, what will happen to the people they hire and the goods they produce? And they are relying on a statistic that we described yesterday is a statistical artifact of how the tax incidence report is done.

The DFL House caucus at least taxed less than half the people hit with this Senate tax, and they taxed at 9%, not 9.75%. So when Tiny says "The reality is, people want some investment," she means they want someone else to invest in things for them. In fact, I've always wanted someone else to invest in my beer.

And after they pass the bill Saturday that everyone admits Governor Pawlenty will veto, the esteemed senators are taking all of next week off. (Do they get per diem during that period? I think not -- so think of the money they'll save!) All the work left to do, and they somehow can get a full week vacation. In 2005, they only took Thursday, Friday and Monday off for Easter week.

But the Mr. Creosote Senate will probably need a full week after digesting all these tax increases.

Labels: legislature, Minnesota