Stop St. Paul’s $1.5 Billion Dollar Payroll Tax Hike On Small Businesses

New Payroll Tax Would Hit Main Street, Workers Hard

Minnesota has a $18 billion surplus, so why are politicians in St. Paul pushing a new $1.5 Billion Payroll Tax on small businesses and workers? That’s how they want to fund a massive new government-run, 24-week paid leave mandate.

Main Street is already struggling – record inflation, worker shortages and supply disruptions are still eating into bottom lines and making it hard to keep doors open. The new $1.5 Billion Payroll Tax will make life even harder on Main Street: the average small business with 10 employees will face a $3,000 per year tax hike – and that’s just to start.

Here’s what you need to know about this scheme:

$1.5 Billion Payroll Tax on small businesses, family farms, workers, and more.

As the cost of the new government-run program grows, so will the payroll tax! Another state’s paycheck tax doubled in just three years.

Mandates that small businesses allow all employees to take up to nearly 6 months off per year for covered circumstances.

Sets up a massive new bureaucracy with over 400 government employees and a $75 million annual budget.

Upends the salary and benefit arrangement for every small business employee, making it harder to offer customized compensation plans to attract new employees.

On top of the $1.5 Billion Paycheck Tax,

On top of the $1.5 Billion Paycheck Tax, politicians expect Main Street to eat the cost of lost sales and lower productivity from government-mandated leave. Add it all up and Minnesota small businesses just can’t afford this right now. Main Street businesses work hard to take care of their employees and their communities. The last thing they need is new taxes and politicians micromanaging their shop.

Message Your Lawmakers

NFIB Members

NFIB Minnesota Radio Ad

We believe it’s going to be the most expensive paid family and medical leave insurance program for small businesses in the country,” Reynolds said. … “The average small business is just different from your average big box retailer,” he said. “They’re just starting so much further away from the requirements of the bill than your average large company.

2/9/2023, Rochester Post Bulletin

It’s no exaggeration to say this could be the most expensive paid-leave insurance program for small business in the country. And at a time when small businesses are already losing ground and getting stretched thin from the worker shortage, supply disruptions, and inflation. Many have still not even fully recovered from the pandemic. … This is no time to get fooled again. The warning signs are there, and this state-run paid leave insurance scheme won’t work for small businesses.

1/27/2023, Duluth News Tribune, NFIB Editorial

Tax increases in any form must be off the table,” NFIB Minnesota State Director John Reynolds said in a news release. “This includes the proposed billion-dollar payroll tax hike that would fund an unworkable new government-run paid leave mandate.

12/12/2022, St. Paul Pioneer Press