House Republicans Call For Tax Relief With Budget Surplus

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There's a tug-of-war at the Capitol over what to do with Minnesota's $1.5 billion budget surplus.

House Republicans joined Senate Republicans today in calling for tax cuts to give the surplus back to taxpayers. Much like the Senate proposal, their plan would eliminate all taxes on Social Security benefits.

GOP lawmakers say those taxes are unfair and encourage seniors to retire out of state.

"We tend to have a lot of snowbirds who retire in the south in the winter and we think its time that we stop paying people to retire in the south, let's give them an advantage to retire in Minnesota and keep their residency here," Rep. Kurt Daudt said.

House Democrats and the governor oppose eliminating Social Security taxes. They argue only higher-income residents pay them.