A first-term Republican legislator from Winona whose election win in November helped end the DFL trifecta at the Minnesota Capitol is proving he’s a difference maker in the opening days of the session.
Rep. Aaron Repinski is authoring a bill that would provide a full repeal of taxes on Social Security for all Minnesotans, which he said is “really a double tax” on income for seniors. Minnesota is just one of eight states that still taxes its citizens on their Social Security income.
In 2023 Democrats passed a tax bill that included a partial repeal of taxes on Social Security income that included an income cap.
Eliminating the Social Security tax has been a top priority for GOP leaders in the House and Senate the past two legislative sessions, even as they were outnumbered by their DFL colleagues who favored a means-tested version of the bill.
Gov. Tim Walz has been on record saying he will not advocate for a “total elimination” of the Social Security tax for all Minnesotans because “it makes no sense.”
On Wednesday, Repinski introduced his full-scale Social Security tax exemption bill that would provide relief for all seniors before the House Taxes Committee.
The former Winona City Council member was one of three Republicans to flip Democrat-held seats in November, helping the GOP end the DFL trifecta at the Capitol.
The bill would allow an individual income tax subtraction for the full amount of federally taxable Social Security benefits. Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, is carrying the bill in the Senate.
“Minnesota remains as an outlier, literally one of eight states that tax residents’ Social Security income. A full repeal would help seniors stay in their home. A Social Security tax is really a double tax on income,” Repinski said. “I say let’s make it easier for those people to help make their ends meet on a day-to-day basis and really stay in our area and celebrate with their family and grandkids.”
In addition to Repinski’s standalone bill to repeal the Social Security tax entirely, Rep. Jim Joy, R-Hawley, is carrying a transportation bill that also includes a provision to repeal the Social Security tax. That bill, HF5, passed in the House Transportation Committee last week. Republicans supported that bill and Democrats opposed it.
Burnsville Democrat says eliminating Social Security tax for all is unfair
Repinski’s bill passed on a party-line vote and now moves to the House Way and Means Committee.
Following the vote to move the bill along to its next stop, Repinski said it is “unfortunate that my Democrat colleagues have decided that allowing seniors to keep the entirety of their Social Security payments is no longer an issue they support.”
“Minnesotans who have spent their lives working and paying into the system deserve to keep the benefits they’ve earned—without facing additional burdens in retirement. Minnesota seniors should not be penalized for staying in our state,” he said.
The bill will need just one Democrat vote to pass on the House floor.
Rep. Jessica Hanson, a third-term Democrat who represents House District 55A in the south metro, told her colleagues she opposes the Social Security income tax repeal for all Minnesotans.
“It is hard to hear seniors who are saying they don’t need a tax break while single mothers like myself are sitting here saying ‘help, we’re drowning,’” Hanson said. “The premise that was presented to our committee is people making over $108,000 deserve this additional tax break that’s going to cost the state $1 billion.”
But Mike Wiener, R-Long Prairie, said that most of those seniors who still make more than $108,000 a year “have worked their whole lives to get to a certain point … in their lives where they are going to retire or are retired and they say this is what we want to do with the fruits of our labor. And they are going to decide and we should give them the tools to decide instead of saying that we as the state can decide better what to do with your money than you can.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
