[Winona Online Democracy]
As a small business owner turned teacher, I am interested in Paul Double's
comments on the question of exempting business owners from sales tax on new
equipment. Is this something new? It seems to me that when I was
self-employed, the only exemption on sales tax for my business was on items
intended for resale. If an exemption on sales tax is a recent incentive for
business investment, then this is already a gain, what's the big deal about
paying up front and waiting for a rebate. If you want to compare to the
personal income tax, it sounds like this would be analagous to payroll
withholding, which is a pretty well accepted concept for most of us.
I imagine there's more to this, and maybe it's a fine piece of legislation,
I'd need to know more about it. I agree with Paul that it seems odd to
blame lack of school funding on a particular piece of pro-business
legislation.
However Paul loses me when he starts railing about the MEA soaking up our
tax dollars, in a redistribution of wealth no yet! Over the past 10 years,
there's been a 43% average growth in wages for all Minnesota wage earners.
During the same period, the average MN teacher salary increased by 23%. If
there is redistribution of wealth going on, it is flowing away from
teachers, not toward them.
Scott Lowery
>
>I know of no business that buys equipment for the fun of it or to get a
>rebate. Most small businesses have enough trouble funding expansion and
>growth without the hassle of having to wait a year to get back the money
>they had to borrow to buy the equipment in the first place. The
>justification for equipment is to create jobs by offering more products,
>becoming more efficient, to retain jobs and to improve product quality.
>Front loading the cost of equipment promotes leasing which only imposes the
>tax on the lease payment not the initial purchase. The idea that this
>takes money from schools is in my opinion without logic since the author
>is not rejecting the idea of exempting new plant equipment from Sales Tax
>only the idea the someone may cheat. Why should the state have use of the
>money interest free for a year until a rebate form is submitted causing the
>purchaser to have to borrow more money to make the purchase. That's as bad
>as asking everyone to pay their income taxes for the year in January just
>in case they make to enough money and might to pay something on April 15th.
>
>Let's target educational money into the 10-20 percent of almost every
>school district budget that includes everything but the "Local Negotiated
>Contract" and would provide relief for new text books, class room supplies
>and building maintenance and get off the redistribution of taxpayers income
>into the new MEA contracts for the next biennium which will start after the
>session is over.
>
>Paul Double
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>
>>Minnesota SOS
>>
>>It is sad that the average taxpayer has no idea what is going on at the
>>capital spending our money. The House Tax bill, and the Senate likely will
>>as well when theirs is released, has large benefits for businesses. This
>>money should be allocated to the taxpayers, for what the majority of the
>>taxpayers want. I am aware of a bill in the omnibus bill which is estimated
>>to cost Minnesotans $35-40 million dollars annually. This could easily be
>>given to some other purpose, like schools. The bill relates to a refund
>>program currently in place for the sales tax on the purchase of equipment
>>used in manufacturing. Currently businesses must pay the tax and file for
>>refunds by submitting a spreadsheet or report documenting the eligible
>>purchases. If the bill passes, the businesses can get the purchases exempt
>>from tax upfront. This new method will not allow for any type of audit to
>>verify the businesses are not abusing or misusing the exemption. Much of
>>the
>>$35-40 million is because the business will misuse the exemption, cheating
>>the other taxpayers. If all Minnesota citizens were aware of this and
>>likely
>>other bills which will be put in place and abused at our expense; at our
>>schools expense; at our children's expense!!!
>>
>>Is there any way to communicate that this bill and others like it should not
>>be included in the Omnibus tax bill and actually get these types of bills
>>removed?
>>
>>Let the message be heard!
>>
>>Dan Affeldt
>>Father of Four, Two Special Needs
>>Zimmerman, MN
>>Elk River School District
>>763-856-4910
Scott Lowery
461 Sunnyview Drive, Rollingstone MN 55969
home phone: (507)689-4532
school phone: (507)453-3888
home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
school email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be
counted counts." Albert Einstein
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time." James Thurber
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