Did T-Paw Quietly Impose Back-Door Tax Hike On Thousands Of Constituents?

[Are_grits_groceries]

This broke quietly in a Minnesota paper, but it could still make a bit of trouble for Tim Pawlenty in advance of the 2012 GOP primary.

Over the weekend the Star Tribune reported that Pawlenty quietly canceled a 40-year-old tax-reciprocity program with Wisconsin, under which residents of both states who work in the other state file a single tax return.

By nixing the plan, residents of both states will now have to file two returns — one for each state. And for various arcane reasons, Pawlenty’s nixing of the program would generate $131 million to close the Minnesota state government’s multi-billion-dollar budget gap.

But the rub is in the Star Tribune’s conclusion: Roughly 8,000 Minnesotan residents will have to pay $300 more in taxes per year.

Pawlenty has repeatedly pledged not to raise taxes, turning him into an anti-tax hero of sorts. But now he’s nixed a 40-year-old deal between the two states, effectively hitting some of his constituents with a tax hike in order to close the budget gap he’d pledged not to close with higher taxes.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/

Baaaad boy T-Paw! They're gonna get you now. You broke one of the 10 commandments: "Thou shall not raise taxes."

[AllentownJake]

1. Didn't Raygun

Lower the higher tier income tax rates while increasing the Social Security tax rate and start spending Social Security revenues on defense?

Republicans have always been about a shell game.

[ejpoeta]

2. politicians make a living splitting hairs. republicans aren't against raising taxes really...

just against raising taxes of the rich. so I will guess that these people who are affected are not rich people.