Dayton’s Snowbird Tax Causes Some Heartburn

ST. PAUL  (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton's plan for an income tax on snowbirds is generating heat from people who say it could wind up driving out long-term visitors.

Only people who live in Minnesota more than six months of the year have to pay state income taxes. Dayton would extend that to anyone who spends 60 or more days a year in Minnesota, raising an estimated $15 million a year.

Bruce Carlson of Washington state says such a tax would lead him to stay away. He returns to his native Minnesota to spend time at his lake home in the Brainerd area about 4 1/2  months a year.

Carlson says if he stays away, the state will lose money in property taxes and registration fees on his various vehicles.