Senate Taxes Committee reviews conference report on 2026 tax bill; staff outlines packet and fiscal effects

At a May 17 meeting of the Minnesota Senate Taxes Committee, staff reviewed a conference committee report on the 2026 tax bill and the supporting spreadsheets that summarize fiscal impacts and federal-conformity provisions. The committee approved the April 30 minutes, recessed briefly and did not take public testimony on the item.

Committee staff told members the packet contains two key documents: the full committee report and a spreadsheet that enumerates federal-conformity provisions and their revenue effects. Staff said the materials show a net general-fund cost in the FY2026–27 biennium and projected revenue changes in FY2028–29 and urged members to review the posted spreadsheets for the detailed figures.

A member asked for clarification about Section 10 (an exclusion relating to interest on loans secured by real property). According to committee staff, the delete-everything amendment would require that the exclusion align with amounts excluded for federal income tax purposes; staff reported that the spreadsheet they provided did not show an effect on the general fund for that change.

Palmer, identified in the transcript as the Commissioner of Revenue, thanked committee chairs and staff for their work assembling the package and said the measures would make filing simpler for taxpayers. "What I think is really going to be a good bill that's going to really benefit Minnesotans across the state," Palmer said, praising the inclusion of conformity provisions that align federal and state filing rules.

The committee did not take votes on the tax bill at the May 17 meeting. Members were reminded that the report and spreadsheets are posted publicly and that they would have time to follow up offline before the bill proceeds further; the bill must still be considered by the full House and any subsequent action will be recorded in future committee proceedings.