May 28, 2019

The legislative session ended on May 20th with a budget deal, but with some key details needing to be decided. Since then, legislative leaders and Governor Walz finalized the entire budget. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) and Tax Committee Chair Roger Chamberlain (R-White Bear Lake) fought hard for a reduction in the statewide commercial/industrial general levy and were successful! 

The approved tax bill that passed during the brief special session included a reduction in the C/I levy by $77.5 million in FY2020-21 and $100 million in FY2022-23. This is a great accomplishment for NAIOP Minnesota and its efforts to advance a more favorable business environment.

Throughout this legislative session, there were numerous NAIOP members who testified, attended the MNCRE Morning at the Capitol, and contacted to legislators on our issues. Their contributions helped secure this legislative victory.

Additional thanks to the 20 NAIOP member companies who are contributing to NAIOP’s Penny-Per-Square-Foot (PPSF) initiative. The PPSF initiative funds 100% of NAIOP’s work to represent Minnesota commercial real estate and its tenants at the Capitol. Contributions to the PPSF fund have been and will remain critical.

In the past three years, our public policy team has been able to eliminate the automatic C/I tax inflator and cut business property taxes by lowering the overall levy by an additional $177.5 million by 2024. Combining these two wins, we will have successfully cut business property taxes by nearly $250 million by 2024. Because these reductions are booked into the next biennium, we need to continue our efforts to protect these wins.

This is a landmark reduction since the inception of the PPSF Fund in 1990. Thank you NAIOP members. Continue to participate in advancing NAIOP’s work in future years at the Minnesota legislature.