Pawlenty vetoes tax bill, signs three spending measures

05/30/2007

By D.J. Tice,
Star Tribune
Last update: May 30, 2007


Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a tax bill this afternoon that would have funded property tax relief largely by tightening tax breaks for companies with foreign operations. Pawlenty also signed three spending bills for higher education, E-12 schools and transportation while issuing line-item vetoes to remove some specific spending in each.

Pawlenty said he vetoed the tax bill, as he had been threatening to do since before the Legislature passed it last weekend, largely because of a provision that would require the state to project inflationary spending increases in future budget forecasts. He said in a letter to lawmakers that the provision would create "autopilot increases" in government programs.

He also objected to the way the measure distributed property tax help, giving too much, he said, in the form of aid to local governments and not enough directly to taxpayers.

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