Senate DFL tax bill fails
In a surprising turn of events, Democrats in the Minnesota Senate today failed to pass their omnibus tax bill.
The bill failed on a 32 - 34 vote, with seven DFLers (Bonoff, Clausen, Franzen, Hoffman, Jensen, Kent and Scalze) voting against the bill and one (Rest) not voting. Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, voted for the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, quickly called for a recess for a DFL caucus meeting. The Senate then returned and was set to reconsider the vote over the objections of Republicans.
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The Senate tax bill raises $1.8 billion in new revenue to erase a projected $627 million deficit and to pay for new spending in education and other budget areas. The bill expands the state sales tax to clothing and personal services, while lowering the rate to 6 percent. It includes an income tax increase that would impact the top 6 percent of filers. Couples with taxable income of $142,000 a year and higher would see a rate increase from 7.85 percent to 9.4 percent. There's also a 94 cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax.
We'll update as necessary.
UPDATE:
The Senate has voted to reconsider its first vote, but still has to vote on the bill. The motion to reconsider passed 38-29. One Democrat, Sen. Vicki Jensen of Owatonna voted against the motion.