Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Scott, Ramsey and Washington are the seven counties in the metropolitan area that will see a one percent tax increase. In other words, whenever you spend $100 there will be an extra $1 added onto the receipt. Groceries, clothing and prescription drugs will still remain exempt from sales taxes.
“After a year, Berlin’s experiment with rent control is a failure,” The Economist declared Tuesday.
Meanwhile, rent control policies are once again gaining momentum in US cities.
“Simply put, our neighbors are losing their homes because they cannot keep up with the rent,” said Minneapolis council member Jeremiah Ellison, an author of the city’s rent control proposal.
Democratic lawmakers and their nonprofit allies are calling on the state Legislature to use part of its $7.7 billion budget surplus to pay for the so-called “Bring It Home, Minnesota” bill that would provide rental assistance to all low-income residents paying more than they can afford in rent.
Theresa Dolata’s voice broke when she urged Minneapolis city leaders to support amendments that would give council members the authority to regulate rent prices in the city.
“I don’t want to end up homeless again, I don’t want to be pushed out,” said Dolata, a resident of the Windom neighborhood, speaking at a February 23 city council meeting.
Following testimony from Dolata and other local citizens, Minneapolis City Council members unanimously approved a proposed charter that would allow the city to impose rent control (or put the issue to a future ballot).