With the legislative session just a couple weeks away, Democrats renewed their push Thursday to resurrect a tax break that caused many Minnesotans to pay higher property taxes this year.

Democrats rolled out a new report that showed Minnesota property owners paid $400 million more in taxes this year, which they said was the result of a GOP-led plan to eliminate the Market Value Homestead Tax Credit.

"I am hoping that the 2012 legislature will work harder to live within its means, rather than taking away people's homestead credit," said state Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington. "The homestead tax credit is one of the only tax breaks that suburban residents receive and sadly some legislators decided to take it away."

Republicans who control both chambers of the Legislature said Democrats are exaggerating the impact of ending the tax break.

"Only Democrats would see the loss of $90 million as the cause for a $400 million tax increase," said state Rep. Greg Davids, a Preston Republican who chairs the House Taxes Committee. "Their math doesn't add up and neither does their argument. It looks more to me like they're exploiting it for politics than they are actually trying to find a solution."

In order to wipe out a $5 billion projected deficit last summer, Republican legislative leaders and DFL Gov. Mark Dayton agreed to end the tax break. The program saved homeowners up to $304 a year and applied to houses valued to as much as $414,000.

Democrats criticized ending the program as home values sank and recession-battered homeowners were forced to fork over more in property taxes. They say Republicans have wrongly tried to divert blame to local government spending.

"GOP leaders and lawmakers who supported this measure must now stop shifting the blame to local governments or distancing themselves from the truth about property tax increases," said Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth.

Republicans said a problem that Democrats aren't talking about is that the state didn't have the money to for the program, which filtered the tax break through local governments. Most years, property owners got the tax break, but local governments had to scramble to balance the budget when the state couldn't fully reimburse them.

"We eliminated a highly flawed program," said Rep. Linda Runbeck, R-Circle Pines, who is chairwoman of the property tax division. "I am encouraged by the actions some local governments have taken to increase their efficiencies, whereas the DFL would prefer sending out blank checks."