June 30, 2003 -- NEWS RELEASE -- State Representative Al Juhnke
rep.al.juhnke@house.mn
281 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
651/296-6206
3951 Horizon Hills Circle, Willmar, MN 56201
320/235-4442
JUHNKE: FISCAL NEW YEAR'S DAY BRINGS HIGHER FEES TO MINNESOTANS
July 1 is Fiscal New Year's Day for the state, and the midnight stroke of the clock will bring higher fees and costs for Minnesotans of all walks of life, Rep. Al Juhnke said today.
"These fee hikes are the result of the so-called 'no tax hike' pledge of Gov. Tim Pawlenty," Juhnke, of Willmar, said. "Call it a fee or call it a tax, it's still money out of your pocket."
Beginning Tuesday, dozens of fees for state government services will be going up - including state park entry permits and camping costs, a variety of outdoors licenses, professional licenses, and costs for activities ranging from senior community services to filing a lawsuit to paying a parking ticket. Parents will be paying more to keep children
in day care and private-pay nursing home residents will pay more for their care. It will cost more to get married and file a will. Schools will be paying more for fire-safety inspections. It will even cost more to pay your taxes - a new fee is established for filing a paper return
instead of an electronic return.
And there is more to come, when college tuition hikes of 30% take effect for the next biennium - and local property tax hikes start hitting homeowners, farmers and businesses next spring, Juhnke added.
"Since most of these fee hikes raise more revenue than it costs to provide the services they are attached to, these fee hikes are in effect targeted tax hikes," Juhnke said. "Even the Taxpayers League - the group that imposed the no-tax-hike pledge that Gov. Pawlenty signed - agrees on that point."
The director of the Taxpayers' League was quoted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press saying "Fees should be charged to cover the cost of the services... I think they're playing with words."
Juhnke noted there are about $400 million of fee hikes in the new state budget, about half of that going to the state's General Fund and the rest in the form of higher premiums, co-pays and deductibles in the MinnesotaCare insurance program. MinnesotaCare also
carries the one unambiguous tax hike in the new budget - the tax on health care costs
that supports MinnesotaCare will rise from1.5% to 2.0%.
A list of the new and increased fees is attached.
