The Dayton Dust Bowl: Costs Of Doing Business
By Mitch Berg
If you are one of the 200,000 Minnesotans with a license from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, prepare for a huge fee increase.
Dayton proposes funding the Commerce Department entirely by fees exacted from those “industries.”
Are you a real estate agent? Reeling from the collapse of the houseing market are you? Tough rocks, Audrey; your license to do business is going up.
Are you an Appraiser? Your kids are wearing last years’ shoes, and you’re trying to figure out your umpteenth way to fix spaghetti so the kids don’t twig to the fact you’ve been stretching a two-pound box of noodles, since nobody’s buying houses since the Obama Stimulus ceased stimulating? Pony up, cowboy.
Youre an Insurance agent? Well, your customers may be in good hands – but unless you cough up a pile of extra money, they’ll be someone else’s hands.
Stock broker? Notary? Barber? The list goes on and on. Basically, if you’re any kind of professional whose franchise to do business depends on a state license, you’re going to be paying more – even if you’re making less.
Coming up at 8AM: No Child Left Paid-For!
Check out the Dayton Budget “Plan” for yourself! Find another howler? Leave it in the comments!
September 7th, 2010 at 8:09 am
Eliminating the snowbird tax break is genius. Just because you don’t live in Minnesota is no reason you shouldn’t pay taxes here. If you spend “significant” time here, you pay. Just redefine “significant” to mean “any” and every traveller passing through the state (or flying over it) pays. And not the ordinary income tax rate – they pay a much higher (more progressive) Out of State rate, like tuition.
Okay, there’s the slight problem of the United States Constitution. Minnesota doesn’t have jurisdiction over people who neither reside here nor have the minimum contacts necessary to satisfy Due Process. But hey, it’s a Living Document, President Obama has appointed Wise new thinkers, and International Shoe is such an old-fashioned name – we need a new case anyway.
Best of all – some of the world’s richest people live outside of Minnesota. If the King of Saudia Arabia ever visits the Mayo Clinic again, our budget woes are solved for decades!
Great plan, Mark. Let’s do it.
.
September 7th, 2010 at 8:29 am
A state-owned and operated casino is a brilliant idea.
Presently, casinos on Tribal lands are run by corporations trying to make a profit by providing the customer with an entertaining and delicious experience. Their success generates profits for the tribe. Why should the Indians get all the dough just because of some silly prohibitions in the Minnesota Constitution (Minnesota has its own Constitution – who knew?).
Opening a state-operated casino at the airport, staffed by enthusiastic and cheerful AFSCME members and affirmative action diversity hires, would offer travellers the same quality of entertainment as visiting the DMV and we KNOW that’s a howling success – look at the length of the lines, every day. The place is packed and customers never seem to leave. We’ll make a killing!
Great plan, Mark. Let’s do it.
.
September 7th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Nate,
For non-lawyers, what’s the deal with International Shoe?
September 7th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Didn’t Sen. Dayton just say that he’s for streamlining the permitting process? If he’s for streamlining the permitting process, he should oppose adding new fees to real estate agents, inspectors, etc., because they both raise the cost of doing business for job creators.
September 7th, 2010 at 9:41 am
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/todays-question/archive/2010/09/should-public-schools-have-to-seek-voter-approval-for-operating-funds.shtml?refid=0
September 7th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Where’s Learned Foot when we need him?
Basic point: the United States Supreme Court ruled 50 years ago that you are subject to the jurisdiction of any particular state’s courts only if you have sufficient minimum contacts with that state to satisfy the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Google “International Shoe v. Washington.”
Tax laws are enforced in tax court. Insufficient contacts means no tax court jurisdiction means no taxes collected. What constitutes “sufficient contacts” to owe the tax? Full employment for lawyers.
.
September 7th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Nate, your proposal for a state-operated casino at the airport sounds JUST like the “Union Gum” parody ad that plays on KTLK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ycb-m4sY0