Representative Marquart Previews House Proposal for Potential Property Tax Cuts

St. Paul, MN — With a more a than $9 billion budget surplus, property tax relief is a point of emphasis during this year’s Minnesota legislative session, and a bill passed in the House Property Tax Division aims to do just that.

Among the provisions in the bill are significant changes in the renter’s tax credit, which would become a refundable credit on a resident’s income tax. It’s estimated that it would result in about $822 million being returned to renters in the current biennium.

Proposed changes to that credit are designed to result in expanded eligibility and larger refunds for most filers. The same is true of changes to the homestead property tax refund program that would add $72 million more in refunds in the next biennium, according to House Tax Chair Representative Paul Marquart.

The bill would also increase local government aid by $68.4 million in the 2024-25 biennium and county program aid by $26 million over the same period. And a formula would be created to fund school districts more equitably across the state, resulting in $90.7 million of increased aid in the next biennium.

The state’s soil and water conservation districts would receive annual funding of $22 million, and the school building bond agricultural credit rate would also be increased, according to Marquart.

Thirteen municipalities and two counties would be permitted to institute or extend local option sales taxes, pending voter approval. Five cities would receive tax increment financing authority, and two would be allowed to extend local lodging taxes.

The bill’s companion is SF3971, sponsored by Sen. Matt Klein (DFL-Mendota Heights), but a more detailed collection of proposals is likely to emerge from the Senate Subcommittee on Property Taxes.

Listen to the full interview with Representative Paul Marquart from the KRJB Kaleidoscope Program below: