Gov. Mark Dayton unveils $300 million tax plan while GOP unveils health care blueprint

Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP legislative leaders volleyed competing, big-ticket spending proposals Thursday that if enacted would deliver tax cuts to farmers and families paying for child care, and provide quick financial assistance to people facing steep premium hikes on their health insurance.

Combined, the proposals by the DFL governor and Republicans who control the Legislature would cost the state $600 million — about $300 million each. Coming in the first week of the session, they set an early framework for negotiations and possible clashes between Dayton and legislators in the coming weeks and months.

Dayton’s $300 million tax plan caps a busy week of major legislative proposals from the governor. It’s the second proposal he revived from two separate pieces of legislation left unfinished last year — a borrowing package to finance more than $1 billion in construction projects across the state, and a tax bill that would benefit more than 450,000 Minnesotans, according to an estimate by Dayton’s office.

http://www.startribune.com/dayton-unveils-300-million-tax-plan-while-gop-unveil-health-care-bills/409800305/