Kowabunga

The Star Tribune editorial page is at it again, claiming Minnesotans are not taxed enough and can afford to pay more.

It’s a followup to an ad headlined "We can afford to pay more state taxes." Here’s the blurb:

It listed more than 200 prominent Minnesotans. All have incomes that reach into the top tax bracket. All are begging the next Legislature and governor: Please, tax us more.

Fine. If these 200 people say they can afford to pay more in taxes, what is stopping them from whipping out their checkbooks and writing some very large checks to fill the coffers for the special projects they want.

Here’s a list from the column of what is planned:

Give every 3- and 4-year-old access to center-based preschool education. Cost: $200 million per year.

Provide health insurance for every child whose family income is less than $60,000 per year. Cost: $300 million per year.

Build a complete metro light-rail network over 10 years. Cost: $250 million per year.

Never mind that these kinds of estimates are never accurate, and that this is just the beginning.

I seem to recall the Massachusetts added a line to their income tax returns to make it easy for those who believe they are not paying enough to write that check and pay what they believe is their fair share. Maybe it is time to do the same thing in Minnesota.

Tags:
taxes