Faced with a state in an economic downturn and a stream of job losses, Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday proposed what he called the "mother lode of tax breaks" to companies that create so-called green jobs in the burgeoning field of renewable energy.
The package includes a variation of Pawlenty's JOBZ economic development program, dubbed Green JOBZ, designed to attract investment in sustainable energy projects by offering exemptions from corporate franchise taxes, income tax for investors, capital gains tax and sales tax on goods and services.
"They would still pay the school levy," Pawlenty said, during a State Capitol news conference Monday, just before leaving for a state fly-around to promote the proposal.
Other elements would be aimed at small businesses and specific incentives to expand biomethane, solar and other forms of renewable energy.
The incentives, an initiative for the 2009 legislative session, would cost the state an estimated $3.65 million in 2010-11, nearly double that amount in 2012-13. Investors who pump money into regional investment funds could see tax credits of $20 million over four years, and another program would provide $60 million in tax incentives for insurance companies that put money in businesses with fewer than 100 employees, with at least half of them green businesses.
But, Pawlenty said, the payoff could be thousands of new jobs and a firm stake for Minnesota at the leading edge of the Green Revolution.
"If the economy continues in its awful state -- and it looks like it's going to for the foreseeable future -- it will be more important than ever to do things that will try to encourage investment in job growth in Minnesota," he said. "And for a very small investment in money, these proposals will do that."
DFL leaders in the state House and Senate said they welcomed Pawlenty's ideas and enthusiasm but were dubious about their effectiveness.
