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Tax Battle Expected at the Capitol

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The most divisive aspect at the Capitol this session will probably center on tax increases.
 
And they could take other forms than just a hike on the rich.
 
"Divided government, like Minnesota has seen the for the past 20 years, has usually meant that when the budget is crunched it's cuts that make it balance, and now with the DFL legislature and DFL Governor Mark Dayton, there's been talk of raising revenue, through increasing taxes on the rich and an expansion of the sales tax to include services."
 
Everything is up in the air right now because the Governor is waiting on the February economic forecast.

It has been estimated that Minnesota is about a billion dollars in the red.

But Republicans, even though they're out of power, don't appear likely to give any possible tax increases a bipartisan flavor.
 
Rep. Paul Torkelson says, "I don't even see it as necessary actually, the state revenues are projected to grow about 6% if we don't do any hanged to revenue, that should be enough to pay for the government we need."