First published in Star Tribune, March 27, 2026.
A recent column argued that Minnesota policymakers shouldn’t consider creating a new income bracket to raise taxes on the highest earners (“Walz says he’s against raising taxes on state’s wealthiest,” March 24).
Here’s some reasons why they should.
The sweeping tax and budget bill passed by Congress last July included massive cuts in public services and shifted substantial responsibility for providing and funding affordable health care and food assistance to our state and local governments. Some of the most drastic harmful changes to the ability of Minnesotans to get the health care they need and put food on the table are still to come. To prevent the harm and hardship that the federal bill was designed to inflict, Minnesota will need more revenue to fund the services that protect Minnesotans’ health and well-being.
In that same bill, Congress passed a huge tax package that gives the biggest tax cuts to high-income households. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the 20% of Minnesota households making less than $36,000 will get an average federal tax cut of $240 in 2026. In contrast, the richest 1%, with household incomes more than $927,700, will get an average tax cut of $52,370 — more than 200 times bigger. In total, Minnesota’s top 1% of households are getting $1.6 billion in federal tax cuts this year.
In addition, a recent report from the Minnesota Department of Revenue finds that the highest-income Minnesotans pay a smaller share of their incomes toward state and local taxes than most other income groups.
Given their significant and permanent federal tax cuts, the highest-income Minnesotans could afford to pay more to fund public services our Minnesota neighbors count on to get by. And lawmakers shouldn’t be afraid to consider asking them to.