Tax Fairness for Working People

While the Legislature failed to resolve the issue of federal tax conformity last session, 2019 presents an opportunity to do it with an eye toward justice. The 2017 federal tax bill handed large corporations massive permanent tax cuts and temporary individual tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy few. Instead of passing the tax savings on to working people in the form of higher wages, corporations are largely hoarding the windfall or only rewarding executives. The Minnesota AFL-CIO supports tax conformity legislation that:

• Uses Federal Adjusted Gross Income rather than Federal Taxable Income as a starting point so that the legislature has the opportunity to make better choices about tax policy for working Minnesotans.
• Refrains from cutting corporate taxes any further. Corporations have had more than enough tax breaks.
• Allows a deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses, which can amount to thousands of dollars for working people who itemize uniforms, tools, travel, and union dues. The 2017 federal tax bill eliminated this deduction.
• Positively impacts lower and middle-income working Minnesotans. One measure to help accomplish this would be expanding the Working Families Tax Credit.