Facts about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty

PawletyUnlugged

(Click Here)

(Click Here)

  Two recently printed articles on the ruling by Ramsey County Judge
Tax or Fee?Fee or Tax?Text Box: FLIP-FLOP ON IS A FEE A TAX   FLIP:  After the Eagan City Council voted to approve a "storm water drainage utility rate increase," then-City Council Member Tim Pawlenty noted that homeowners were upset and that some considered the "utility rate" a tax rather than a user fee. (Eagan Chronicle, February 7, 1990.)   FLOP:  As Governor, Pawlenty has tried to hoodwink voters by claiming that his $400,000,000 tax on cigarette smokers is really a fee so as to purportedly keep his "no new tax" pledge.  The Governor's insistence on calling the tax a fee prompted a lawsuit in which a district court judge ruled the "fee" invalid.  The judge noted that had it been called a tax, no lawsuit could have been filed.