And we live here why???

"'And we live here why?" Oh, please don't ask me today! Besides feeling cold, I am feeling fleeced by the feds as well as the state. Why don't you ask me again in June why I live here. I might give a more civilized answer." 

This is a perfect morning NOT to ask that question! Why do we live here? Certainly ain't the weather! For the umpteenth year in a row, our young spring has been spoiled by a major hay maker of a snowstorm, bringing snow, wind, cold and everything else bad. And to make matters worse, it happened during the week many of us are doing our taxes. Not a good combination!

So lets forget about the weather, as even though some nut balls say we are responsible for man made climate change. Bottom line - we can't do anything about the weather. It is after all, just weather. But since I am finishing up my taxes today, let's talk about Minnesota taxes. Like, why in the world has Minnesota been voted the least tax friendly state? Lets peel back that onion just a bit and take a look.

Here are Minnesota's tax brackets:

$0 to $37,850                        5.35%

$37,851 to $150,360             7.05%

$150,381 to $266,700           7.85%

$266,701 and up                   9.85%

Some might look at these brackets and say, "Those are not so bad - I don't make over $250K". Yes, but some folks do. Especially small business owners. And the real hurt for most of us is in the middle two brackets. They are way higher than most states for the same amount of money. Bottom line? Unless you are dirt poor or a immigrant from East Africa, we tax the socks off of most everyone. 

Our sales tax is 6.875%, unless you live in Minneapolis, where it is 8.025%. Minnesota's corporate tax rate is 9.8%, which is the third highest in the nation. Then you wonder why businesses are fleeing this state in droves. Our gas tax is 28.6 cents a gallon, which is over the nation's median gas tax. If Taxing Timmy gets his way, our gas tax will inflate to 48.6 cents a gallon, which would be the 4th highest in the nation. And even when you die, your money is not safe. Minnesota's inheritance tax rate in 2018 for anything over $2.4 M is 16%.

The normal person would look at our tax picture and say "Holy Molly! We need to do something!" That is what a normal person would say. An abnormal person like Taxing Timmy, would say, "This state is under taxed. We need to raise taxes across the board so we can pay for (get ready for it) INVESTMENTS. So, once Timmy gets done with us, we will no longer be the least tax friendly state in the union, we will be the least tax friendly state in the galaxy.

"And we live here why?" Oh, please don't ask me today! Besides feeling cold, I am feeling fleeced by the feds as well as the state. Why don't you ask me again in June why I live here. I might give a more civilized answer.