Emmer pushes tax break for vets

Posted at 6:09 PM on July 22, 2010 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

Republican Tom Emmer held a town hall forum in Elk River today and he emphasized that he's committed to exempting military pensions from state income taxes. Emmer talked about veterans issues with roughly forty veterans about the tax break, the conditions of the VA Medical system and ensuring veterans are getting the services they need.

Emmer told reporters that he's committed to ensuring the tax break if he's elected governor but didn't specify how he would pay for it. The plan would cost the state $25 million a year once fully phased in. Minnesota is facing a projected budget shortfall of nearly $6 billion. Emmer says he'll find the funds elsewhere.

"I'm talking about priorities," Emmer said. "Our military men and women, our veterans, are a priority for this state like our disabled, like our school kids. You fund your priorities. You have to look at what we're delivering you have to look at the budget."

Most of the veterans in the room appeared supportive of the tax break but Ed Fiore of East Bethel said a full tax break for every veteran may be going too far.

"Do you really think a person getting $60,000 a year through retirement needs a tax break?," Fiore said. "Or do you think the person getting $600 a month needs the tax break? So maybe rather than looking at the one shoe fits all, look at a tax credit so the veterans that are getting the least amount of pension get the most benefit."

You can listen to the full forum here: Listen

The Republican Party of Minnesota first raised this issue last week when they criticized Democrat Mark Dayton for opposing the tax break. Democrats Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Matt Entenza both says they are supportive of the concept but say they don't support it until the state's budget is balance.

Comments (1)

A priority here, a priority there. Pretty soon you're talking real money.

Posted by Rich | July 22, 2010 7:26 PM

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