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Panel to take a stab at overhauling state's tax code
The commission will study Minnesota's tax code that the governor says puts state businesses at a disadvantage.
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A tax-reform commission appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Wednesday will be charged with rethinking a tax code that he says is outdated and inhibits business.
"We punish the formation of capital ... and that's concerning to me," Pawlenty said as he announced a 15-member commission stocked with business executives.
The group will have until December to make recommendations to overhaul the tax system, in time for Pawlenty to include the suggestions in his next two-year budget. The DFL-led House and Senate also are expected to recommend major changes to the system.
Pawlenty said that while he won't proscribe solutions, he has long believed that comparatively high individual income and corporate taxes put the state at a disadvantage.
Leading the group will be business owner Mike Vekich, a frequent appointee of Pawlenty's who also sits on the Minnesota Baseball Authority and was tapped by the governor as interim director for the Minnesota State Lottery in 2004. He also was chairman of the board of trustees for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities from 1996-2002, before Pawlenty became governor.
Pawlenty said that Vekich has a deep background in business and understands the "global shift."
Vekich said the commission will take a "nonideological" look at the state's tax system, attempting to create a new code that's more predictable, less volatile. "We want to create an economic juggernaut," he said.
Former Sen. Bill Belanger, R-Bloomington, will also serve on the board, along with representatives from Medtronic, Target and General Mills and several accountants and businesspeople. John Spry, an associate professor of finance at the University of St. Thomas, is the commission's lone academic. The only nonprofit member is Mark Haveman, executive director of the Minnesota Taxpayers' Association, a nonpartisan research organization founded in 1926.
Patricia Lopez • 651-222-1288
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Current state office holders
Governor: Tim Pawlenty
One of only a few prominent Republicans to win a competitive re-election contest in the Democratic sweep of 2006, Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as politically shrewd and naturally likable.
- Lt. Governor: Carol Molnau
- Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie
- Attorney General: Lori Swanson
- State Auditor: Rebecca Otto
Minnesota's political giants: Learn more about the men and women who have shaped Minnesota's political history.
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