Wednesday, May 8, 2013
A bill to let states impose sales tax on big online retailers passed the U.S. Senate Monday. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken voted for the Marketplace Fairness Act, as did many Republicans.
Why should online shoppers pay sales tax? Why or why not? Leave a comment below. You could pay the same sales tax for online purchases as you do for shopping at a physical store if a bill that passed the U.S. Senate Monday becomes law. The Marketplace Fairness Act would allow states to collect sales tax from retailers with more than $1 million in annual gross sales to out-of-state customers. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken (both DFL-MN) voted yes, joined by 67 other senators including 21 Republicans. Minnesota Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans praised the Senate action in a press release: "This legislation levels the playing field for all those Main Street businesses in Minnesota and across the country. It also helps large retailers like…
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Minnesota legislators are debating a new sales tax on licensed clothing, sports memorabilia and luxury suites to cover the state's share of Vikings stadium construction costs.
Do you want to pay sales tax on Twins, Wild and Timberwolves sports memorabilia and licensed clothing to help the State of Minnesota raise money to build the new Vikings stadium? E-pulltab revenues to fund the new Minnesota Vikings stadium have fallen short, so the Minnesota House of Representatives Taxes Committee is considering a new tax on sales of sports-related items to help fill the gap. Watch the House committee debate the issue at its Wednesday meeting starting at 12:30 p.m. above or at TheUpTake.org. The bill (see PDF) by Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) would tax "'Sports memorabilia' ... items available for sale to the public that are sold under a license granted by any professional sports league or a team that is a …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Take our poll; then click on to our Patch stories below to see what legislators and others are saying.
Gov. Mark Dayton this week unveiled a proposed state budget and tax plan that would, among other things, lower Minnesota's sales tax from 6.875 percent to 5.5 percent but broaden it to cover more items such as higher-priced clothing, car repairs and other services. In his quest to avoid a projected $1.1 billion revenue shortfall, Dayton said his plan also includes raising the income on some groups of taxpayers (such as the state's 2 percent of highest-income earners). He is proposing to reduce property taxes and cut the corporate tax rate on businesses. (To see a Patch story and UpTake video of Dayton's speech, click on this link.) Bottom line: The governor said he wants to provide property tax relief, boost funding for K-12 education, …
Friday, January 18, 2013
In this week's Hot Topics conversation, we want to know how you feel about a bill that has been introduced in the State Legislature.
This week, the Senate Tax Reform Committee began working on measures, including one that would expand the sales tax base while lowering the overall rate by half a percent. Under the bill, shoppers would pay sales tax on individual clothing items costing more than $200 dollars. The first $200 would be exempt. The committee did not take action on the plan. The proposal was introduced last week by Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka), Sen. Chris Eaton (DFL-Brooklyn Center) and Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope). Watch committee testimony on the proposal in the attached video by MNSenateMedia. Do you think this plan is a good idea? Why or why not? Tell us your opinion in the comments area below.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sen. Ken Kelash shows his support for an amendment that would make online retailers charge their customers Minnesota sales tax.
Now that the Internet features so many online retailers, State Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Richfield) said its only fair to have those retailers collect state sales tax dollars. An amendment to require online retailers to collect sales tax was being considered Tuesday. If the amendment was to pass, not only would it level the playing field for traditional businesses, but it would also brings in tax revenue for the state, Kelash said. “We're not talking about taxing the businesses,” Kelash said. “We’re just asking them to collect the taxes that are due in the State of Minnesota for sales tax and level the playing field for all of our main street businesses ... It’s a matter of fairness to our retailers. It’s a matter of fairness even to our …
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Minnesota State Legislature is in session.
State Rep. Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville) defends the use of metro sales tax money to help with the state's transportation costs and House Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis), who represents part of Richfield, responds in a heated fashion. Watch the above video for the whole story.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Minnesota State Legislature is in session.
House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, who represents part of Richfield, talks about the proposed transportation bill.
Albert
2:51 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2013
Why should a business that may be out of state or out the country have an advantage over say a business in our community. The issue is the goverment was slow to the internet sales game and is now just playing catch up. They are not proposing new taxes just leveling out the retail playing field. Support your local business that support your community, not some online company that might be in China… more ›