Dayton Pushes Taxes To Skeptical Business Crowd

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Gov. Mark Dayton isn't shying from his push for higher taxes, taking it before a leading Minnesota business group that opposes him on the issue.

Dayton addressed 1,500 members of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce with a won't-back-down message on taxes Thursday night.

Groups aligned with Minnesota businesses spent millions promoting Republican Tom Emmer and attacking Dayton during the campaign. Dayton joked about it in his speech before making a forceful case for raising income taxes on Minnesota's highest earners.

Dayton closed with the refrain: "Our shared solution is jobs." He stressed that the education of the state's future work force, size of the business customer base and the safety of communities depend on a balanced fix to a $6.2 billion deficit.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)