Doepke: 'No' to Any Proposed Tax Increase

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State Representative Connie Doepke (R-33B) said late last week that she vehemently opposes any solution to the state’s budget deficit that involves a tax increase.

“I will vote against any bill that includes a tax increase above current levels, yes,” she said.

Doepke, who represents many of the cities surrounding Lake Minnetonka, stressed her constituents have been clear in expressing their wishes and the lines along which they want her to vote.

“Taxes are the big elephant in the room,” she said. “Not everyone feels this way, but the majority of the people I meet and the e-mails I receive are saying ‘please don’t raise my taxes.’”

Dopke expressed confidence that the Legislature and governor would be able to reach a budget solution before a May 23 deadline set by the state constitution, but said too many moving parts prohibited her from speculating on the specific details of such a deal.

Representing one of the state’s wealthier districts means Doepke’s constituents would be hit hard by a plan introduced by Governor Dayton and supported by most DFL legislators to raise taxes on top income earners. A new tax bracket would be created under the governor’s plan and raise income taxes on any household making more than $130,000 annually.

Doepke said the plan was, for her, a non-starter.

“We have a lot of work to do, but not raising taxes is what I’m sticking to,” she said. “We’ve done surveys on this, and that is what the people in my district want.”

Stadium

While saying she recognizes her district contains some of the biggest Vikings fans in the state, Doepke said she hasn't yet seen a funding formula for a new stadium that she has been able to support.

“I don’t think anybody wants to lose the Vikings,” she said. “They bring people of this state together the way very few things can."

Doepke said she had not yet had a chance to fully review a bill introduced earlier this month that would raise money for a new stadium through a combination of private financing and state and local funding sources. She was adamant, however, that any bill containing new taxes or new fees would not receive her support without voters first having an opportunity to weigh in.

“I would not favor a tax increase without the people having a chance to vote on it in a referendum,” she said. “The taxpayers would have to be involved in it.”

Similarly, Doepke said she opposes giving local governments the authority to levy a fractional sales tax without voters first giving it a green light at the ballot box.

She additionally opposes added fees or new taxes on gas, cigarettes and alcohol and is not in favor of slot machines or building racinos as part of a stadium finance package. 

“I’m not interested in expanding gambling. I think that just creates more problems than solutions," she said. "Quite frankly, my ideal solution would be a stadium that is privately financed 100 percent. Unless my constituents tell me otherwise, that’s where I stand.”