Minnesotans Can’t Afford New Gas Taxes and Transportation Fees!

Transportation is one of the core constitutional responsibilities of state government, and we should be making sure it gets the funding it needs. 

Unfortunately, the real infrastructure needs of the state too often are used as sales pitches to sell new taxes and fees, while transportation-related revenues within the general fund are continually shifted away from infrastructure to fund other “priorities”.

I’m writing today to ask you to vote “No” on the House Omnibus Transportation Bill, which would raise billions of dollars in new taxes and fees, including: 

• $363 million in gas tax increases (linking existing taxes to AUTOMATICALLY INCREASE according to a federal government formula)

• $916 million in sales tax increases to fund transit

• $120 million in motor vehicle sales tax increases

• $149 million in tab fee increases (through changes to depreciation schedules)

At a time when the state is already projecting a surplus, with billions in federal dollars on their way to state coffers, and with families and businesses struggling to recover from government-imposed shutdowns, now is not the time to raise taxes – on anything. 

These tax and fee increases would hurt those Minnesotans already struggling to make ends meet. That pain won’t only be felt at the pump; it will also increase the cost of every item on the shelves that families rely on – food, school supplies, clothing, and all forms of household necessities, adding to the pain of price increases and shortages already occurring in the fallout from the pandemic. 

Please vote “No” on the Transportation Omnibus Bill when it comes up for a vote on the House floor!