Budget Comparison

GOP Tom Emmer	DFL Mark Dayton	IP Tom Horner
Income Taxes
• Would not increase state income taxes.	• Would raise state income taxes on individuals making over $130,000 a year and couples making over $150,000 a year. • Would make "snowbirds" who live in Minnesota half the year pay state income taxes.	• Would not increase state income taxes.
Property Taxes
• Would reduce the state general property tax by reducing levy amount by $100 million in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.	• Wants homeowners to pay a 2 percent additional property tax on the value of homes over $1 million.	• Would put $100 million into property tax refunds to protect homeowners. • Would increase by $25 million the amount of agriculture market value credits.
Business or Sales Taxes
• Would not increase sales taxes. • Would cut the corporate franchise tax gradually from 8.8 percent in 2011 to 3 percent in 2015 and would seek to repeal it eventually. • Would provide small businesses with a 10 percent subtraction for tax relief. • Expand the state tax credit for research and development. • Expand angel investor tax credit.	• Would make corporations that sell products in more than one state subject to a "throwback rule" that would generate more corporate income taxes for the state. • Would eliminate JOBZ subtractions and credits and would eliminate subtractions for foreign operating companies and royalties. • Would tax the profits credit card companies make when charging interest rates higher than 15 percent.	• Would cut JOBZ and the ethanol credit. • Would authorize counties to adopt a 0.5 percent sales tax. • Would reduce the sales tax by 1 percent but would broaden it to include clothing and some services. • Wants to increase research and development tax credit and reduce the corporate tax rate by 20 percent starting in 2013 and would seek to repeal it eventually. • Would increase tobacco and liquor taxes.
Education Spending
• Would wait until 2014 to begin paying back a $1.4 billion payment delay to school districts. • Vows not to reduce K-12 education budget in the next budget cycle. • Wants to shift funding from existing state child care programs to early childhood education programs to prepare pre-school students for kindergarten.	• Would reduce standardized testing and eliminate alleged abuses within the Charter School Lease Aid program. • Will boost education funding to increase teachers' salaries, lower class sizes and provide full state funding for all-day kindergarten. • Vows to pay back the full K-12 funding shift that has delayed payments to school districts as part of a budget fix.	• Would wait until 2013 to begin paying back a $1.4 billion payment delay to school districts. • Wants to increase funding for early learning, K-12 education and higher education. • Wants to pay good teachers better salaries while getting rid of bad teachers.