01-08-2025 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MR-19 STATE BUDGET STABILITY MR-20 TAXATION OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Metro Cities encourages a full examination of the rising costs of health care and the impacts on city employers and employees. Metro Cities also supports a study of the fiscal impacts to both cities and retirees of pooling retirees separately from active employees. Metro Cities supports a state revenue system that provides for stability, flexibility, and adequacy, reduces volatility in state revenues and improves the long- term balance of state revenues and expenditures. Metro Cities supports a statutory budget reserve minimum adequate to manage risks and fluctuations in the state’s tax system and a cash flow reserve account of sufficient size so that the state can avoid short- term borrowing to manage cash flow fluctuations. Metro Cities supports the principle of representative democracy and opposes including tax and expenditure limits in the state constitution, as well as new constitutional amendments, as these limit flexibility by the Legislature and local governments to respond to unanticipated critical needs, emergencies, or fluctuating economic situations. Metro Cities supports an examination of the property tax system and the relationships between state and local tax bases, with an emphasis on state budget cuts and effects on property taxes. State budget deficits must be balanced with statewide sources and must not further reduce funding for property tax relief programs and aids to local governments that result in local governments bearing more responsibility for the costs of services that belong to the state. Metro Cities supports efforts to develop a streamlined sales and use tax system to simplify sales and use tax collection and administration by retailers and states. Metro Cities supports policies that encourage remote retailers to collect and remit state sales taxes in states that are complying with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. Metro Cities opposes legislation that allows accommodation intermediaries such as online travel companies a tax exemption that terminates obligations to pay hotel taxes to state and local governments, or otherwise restricts legal actions by states and localities. The Legislature in 2011 clarified that these services are subject to state sales tax. Metro Cities supports statutory changes to further clarify that all lodging taxes, whether administered by the state or locally, apply to total charges, including charges for services provided by accommodation intermediaries. 10