House Republicans Monday trotted out a one-trick pony idea -- a property tax rebate proposal that they don't even know if the state will have enough money to pay for.
House Speaker Steve Sviggum and House Majority Leader Erik Paulsen announced a plan Monday to target $307 million to a tax relief account that would give homeowners a rebate of 10 percent on their 2006 property tax bill.
The checks would arrive just before homeowners would have to make their Oct. 15 tax payment. It would also be just weeks before the Nov. 7 election when all 201 legislative seats are up for election.
This certainly is not a novel idea. Remember the "Jesse checks," when the state sent out tax rebate checks during the first three years of the Jesse Ventura administration. There is also the question about the cost of implementing such a rebate system.
Who wouldn't want a property tax rebate?
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However, the House Republicans' proposal is rather tenuous. The catch is the rebate would be possible only if the cigarette fee enacted last year is upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
There is also a question of fairness here. If the cigarette fee -- which produces $185 million a year -- stands, is the state funding property tax relief by taxing smokers.
The primary fault of the House property tax rebate plan is that it is simply a one-trick pony. The plan does absolutely nothing for long-term, permanent property tax reform in Minnesota.
The reality is that this property tax proposal is strictly a political ploy when the House Republican leadership has growing election-year concerns.
Good politics does not make good policy. If Minnesota has some excess funding to invest, the Legislature should look toward permanent property tax reform or invest in more funding for Local Government Aid or K-12 education, which in turn could hold down future property tax increases.
