Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is best known for his Midwestern roots. He grew up in Nebraska and spent several years as a public school teacher and football coach in Minnesota. But voters will get their chance during his campaign. Tuesday’s debate with vice presidential contender, Senator JD Vance. Hear more about Walz’s views on taxes and the economy, key issues in the November election, on CBS.
As opinion polls predict that the 2024 presidential election will be fierce, the percentage of voters who think the economy is good has gradually increased. lift support for Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz’s Democratic ticket. But according to a CBS News poll, nearly 6 in 10 voters describe the economy as “bad” and ranking the economy is the most important issue among voters.
Already, Walz’s approach to economic issues can be seen through his actions as governor of Minnesota, where he has served since 2019 and is currently serving his second term. His policies included enacting the nation’s largest state child tax credit and free school meals for the state’s K-12 students while raising taxes on the state’s highest earners to pay for these and other social programs .
Walz’s Tax Performance
Carl Davis, director of research at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a left-leaning think tank, said Waltz “added to the progressiveness of Minnesota tax law.” “Having a system like Minnesota’s that asks more people at the top makes it much easier for that type of progressive system to pay for the money it spends on ancillary initiatives like free school meals.”
The tax and social programs Walz signed into law in Minnesota mirror some of the plans the Harris-Walz ticket has announced so far. A more generous federal child tax credit. There are plans to increase taxes on high earners and corporations.
“The similarities are very clear” between Walz’s performance in Minnesota and the Harris-Walz national campaign, Davis said.
Minnesota’s Child Tax Credit
Many states have enacted or expanded child tax credits since the pandemic, with the federal government increasing the national CTC by up to $3,600 per child. The larger benefits helped reduce child poverty to historic lows, but when the enhanced CTC expires in 2022, child poverty rates will fall. rapidly increase.
This has led some states, including Minnesota, to seek enactment of their own CTCs, ITEP’s Davis noted.
Minnesota’s CTC of $1,750 per child is the most generous state child tax credit in the country, according to the Tax Policy Center, a tax think tank. Walz touted it as “America’s best child tax credit” and encouraged Minnesota parents to file their taxes to receive the benefit.
Meanwhile, Vance suggested. Federal CTC Expansion But earlier this year, Republican lawmakers blocked a modest expansion of the tax break. Vance did not vote for the failed Senate bill to provide larger CTCs to low-income families because he was not present for the vote. that said On “Face the Nation” in August, he said the vote was for “show” and was doomed to fail regardless of the direction of his vote.
Tuesday’s debate will likely feature Walz’s ideas on how to help families afford the rising cost of living. Vance’s economic viewsIn addition to the CTC expansion, it included criticizing the Democratic Party as “anti-family.”
Social Security tax cuts
Walz also tried to help Minnesotans at the other end of the age spectrum: retirees. Walz would eliminate the Minnesota income tax on Social Security benefits for three-quarters of beneficiaries as part of his 2023 state tax bill.
Under Minnesota law, married couples making less than $100,000 a year and single filers making less than $78,000 are exempt from state taxes on their Social Security checks.
Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump also proposed abolishing the tax on Social Security benefits. He pledged to eliminate the federal income tax. About monthly government payments. About 40% of the nation’s 67 million Social Security beneficiaries earn enough in taxes to owe the IRS through their benefits.
However, there is one important difference between the duel proposals. According to the Tax Policy Center, Walz paid for the CTC as well as Social Security tax cuts by raising taxes on high-income households. Trump and Vance, meanwhile, have said they want to lower taxes on corporations and renew tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Most generous tax cuts for high earners.
Walz achieved tax cuts for families and seniors by limiting the amount of standard or itemized deductions high-income filers can claim, reducing the deduction for dividend income, and imposing a surtax on capital gains income, the Tax Policy Center notes. do.
How does Minnesota’s economy compare?
Minnesota’s gross domestic product has increased about 5% since 2018, when Walz was elected governor, according to Minnesota Compass, a data site created by Wilder Research, a Minnesota-focused research group that focuses on topics such as homelessness and public health.
Since the height of the pandemic, which forced employers to cut workers across the country, Minnesota has regained lost jobs and is now back to where it was before the health emergency, data shows.
The average Minnesotan will earn $85,000 in 2023, more than the average American worker, compared with a national average of about $78,000, according to Minnesota Compass. To be sure, Minnesotans’ incomes have been ahead of the national median for at least 30 years, long before Walz’s election.
state rankings Very good for businessA recent study by business news site CNBC ranked the state sixth among the 50 U.S. states based on a variety of criteria, including competitiveness, workforce, infrastructure, economy, quality of life and business-friendliness.
Many companies are planning to expand or invest in Minnesota, including Mayo Clinic’s recent $5 billion expansion and Polar Semiconductor’s historic $525 million investment.
The state’s relatively strong economy has also helped it generate enough tax revenue to provide surpluses at the start of the 2019 and 2021 budget cycles, as well as a massive $17.6 billion budget surplus in 2023. The latter helped the state fund ambitious social programs signed into law. Walz’s works include: Free school meals for children.
—With a report from the Associated Press.
