GOP pushing cut in renters' credit

[dflprincess]

http://pd.startribune.com/sp?eId=14&ecId=1887804&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.startribune.com%2Fstories%2F587%2F5379708.html

Patricia Lopez, Star Tribune
May 2, 2005 RENTERS0502

At the State Capitol, 2005 may turn out to be a bad year for renters.
First, Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled his "turbo-charged" truth in taxation proposal that would give property owners -- and only property owners -- the right to weigh in on proposed property tax increases by mailing in a postcard that proclaims their dissatisfaction with the level of taxation.

Then, tucked into Pawlenty's budget-cutting proposals is this: A $113 million cut to the renters' credit over three years that would lop one-fourth off the credit that goes out to more than 270,000 Minnesota renters. Though not posited as a tax increase, it's being billed that way by some advocacy groups, most notably the Minnesota Senior Federation.

Members of the DFL-led Senate say they'll stop the renters' credit cut dead in its tracks, and the turbo-charged surveys have run into serious opposition from cities and counties. But the Republican-controlled House calls renters' credit reductions sound fiscal belt-tightening and an essential part of a budget proposal that keeps the state's budget balanced four years out. "It's built into our budget plan," House Speaker Steve Sviggum said. "It's one of those tough choices we've had to make."

Who gets the renters' credit? Nearly a third of the recipients -- about 90,000 Minnesotans -- are senior citizens or are disabled. All have incomes below $46,000 a year. (Homeowners can make up to $85,000 and still qualify for a property tax refund.) More than 120,000 live in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, but they can be found in every corner of the state. In 15 outstate counties, low-income seniors make up more than half of the renters receiving the credit.

Renters' advocates have argued that landlords were under no obligation to pass the 2001 property tax cuts on to their renters and that many did not. To penalize renters by cutting their rebates now, said Nan Madden, budget director for the Minnesota Budget Project, would amount to a double-whammy. "Most renters didn't get any kind of rent cut when the property taxes were cut," she said.

David Strom, president of the Minnesota Taxpayers League, which advocates for lower taxes, said the credit has become an "income transfer" program that is long overdue for a trim. That renters did not benefit from the 2001 property tax cut "is not government's issue," Strom said. "That's a market function. People can complain to their landlords. They can negotiate with them."

[katinmn]

1. shysters!

[trotsky]

2. The Taxhaters League just drips with compassion, don't they?

"That's a market function. People can complain to their landlords. They can negotiate with them."

What a fucking slimeball. Spoken as someone who has never been in a spot where a rent increase means the difference between eating and not eating for a week (or more). I will be so glad when Pukelenty is kicked out on his ass next year and the Taxhaters League loses their #1 cheerleader.