2013-07-08

Republican leaders in the Minnesota Legislature sent a letter today to Gov. Mark Dayton, urging him to call a special session to repeal a new warehouse tax.

In the letter, Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt and Senate Minority Leader David Hann say that the new sales tax on warehousing and storage services is "unnecessary and burdensome."

Dayton, talking today with reporters at the Capitol for the first time since he pulled a hip muscle two weeks ago, said the Republican request was just grandstanding. He said the tax doesn't take effect until April and that it was needed to dig the state out of a revenue hole caused by the previous GOP-led Legislature.

In other words, no special session.

In the letter, Daudt and Hann said Red Wing Shoes is delaying a $20 million expansion because of the tax. And even with the start date in April, they said the state should repeal the tax now, to remove uncertainty for companies considering expansion.

"Minnesotans can't afford taxation by trial-and-error and frankly, they deserve better," the letter said.

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