Tim Pawlenty on Corporations Republican MN Governor

20% corporate tax cut; 20% business exclusion

• 20% cut in the corporate tax rate
• 20% exclusion from taxes for small businesses
• Capital gains tax exclusion for qualified investments
• Tax credits for investors in startup companies
• R&D tax credits
• Incentives for investment in Minnesota small businesses.

Reduce business tax from 3rd highest corporate tax rate

We have the 3rd highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. Our personal income and sales tax rates are among the highest in the country, and Minnesota offers no preferential rate for capital gains. We need to face the facts: Minnesota's tax system is costing us jobs, and our tax code needs to change to meet the challenges and opportunities of our time.

2009: Automakers should have gone bankrupt 6 months earlier

"You probably haven't read those plans," I asserted. "Governor Pawlenty, have you read the report that the carmakers have just submitted? I bet you haven't." Pawlenty admitted he hadn't read the plans. He [asserted] that the automakers should have gone into bankruptcy six months sooner. "They should do it now," he concluded.

I responded by strongly reasserting the importance of the auto industry to the American economy.