We — residents and businesses of the Twin Cities Metro Area — petition Governor Dayton, legislators, and county commissioners to reject the proposal for a new Metro-area sales tax to pay for Southwest LRT.

For years the cost of transportation across Minnesota has been supported by taxpayers statewide. This is because we believe our transportation system connects and benefits all Minnesotans, no matter where they live and work in our great state.

But now there is a proposal to pay for construction and operation of Southwest LRT with a new sales tax imposed only in the Metro Area. Legislators are asked to support this proposal in a special session of the legislature.

This is unfair! Metro Area taxpayers support transportation in outstate Minnesota, so why shouldn't the reverse continue to be true? If we in the Metro have to pay for our own transit, then we should no longer have to support outstate transportation needs.

I strongly oppose such a tax shift, which would affect all residents of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties. It would be

• Unfair and discriminatory to single out one area of the state and require it to support its own transportation system;
• Regressive, because sales taxes hit most heavily on low-income people;
• Economically damaging. The proposed sales tax would drive up the cost of living for residents in all seven counties and put its retail, hospitality and entertainment businesses at a competitive disadvantage. For example, Minneapolis sales tax, now 7.775%, would rise to 8.275% — and over 10% for liquor, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues (second only to Chicago, which at 10.25%, currently has the highest combined state and local sales tax rate for any major American city). 

I demand that Governor Dayton and our state legislators reject this proposal to impose unjust and damaging taxes on Metro-area residents.