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Municipal Revenue & Taxation <br />1-T State Budget Stability <br />Metro Cities strongly supports a state revenue system that provides for stability, flexibility <br />and adequacy in the system, reduces the volatility of state revenues and improves the long- <br />term balance of state revenues and expenditures. Metro Cities supports a statutory budget <br />reserve minimum that is adequate to manage risks and fluctuations in the state's tax <br />system and a cash flow reserve account of sufficient size so that the state can avoid short <br />term borrowing to manage cash flow fluctuations. <br />Metro Cities also supports an examination of the property tax system and the relationships <br />between state and local tax bases, with an emphasis on state budget cuts and effects on <br />property taxes. State budget deficits must be balanced with statewide sources and must not <br />further reduce funding for property tax relief programs and aids to local governments that result <br />in local governments bearing more responsibility for the costs of services that belong to the state. <br />1-U Taxation of Electronic Commerce <br />Metro Cities supports efforts to develop a streamlined sales and use tax system to simplify <br />sales and use tax collection and administration by retailers and states. Metro Cities <br />supports policies that encourage remote retailers to collect and remit state sales taxes in <br />states that are complying with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. <br />Metro Cities opposes legislation that allows accommodation intermediaries such as online <br />travel companies a tax exemption that terminates obligations to pay hotel taxes to state and <br />local governments, or otherwise restricts legal actions by states and localities. In 2011 the <br />Legislature clarified that these services are subject to state sales tax. Metro Cities supports <br />additional statutory changes to further clarify that all lodging taxes, whether administered <br />by the state or locally, apply to total charges, including charges for services provided by <br />accommodation intermediaries. <br />1-V Payments for Services to Tax Exempt Property <br />Metro Cities supports city authority to collect payments from tax exempt property owners <br />to cover the costs of services to those entities, similar to statutory authority for special <br />assessments. Metro Cities opposes legislation that would exempt nonprofit entities from <br />paying user fees and service charges. <br />1-W Proceeds from Tax Forfeited Property <br />Metro Cities supports changes to state laws governing the proceeds for tax forfeited <br />properties. Currently, counties can recover administrative costs related to a property before <br />other allocations are made and the law allows for the county to recoup a percentage of <br />assessment costs once administrative costs are allocated. The result is often no allocation or a <br />very low allocation, and usually insufficient level of proceeds available for covering special <br />assessments, unpaid taxes and fees to cities. State processes addressing tax -forfeited properties <br />2019 Legislative Policies <br />