Minnesota Lawmakers Now Want to Tax Social Media?

Minnesota could enact a new tax on social media if a proposal introduced in both the state House and Senate is signed into law.

Minnesota is, of course, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But thanks to a flurry of new laws enacted in the past few years that added a new tax on deliveries and increased taxes on gasoline, vehicle registration tabs, and more, it sometimes seems like this is also the Land of 10,000 Taxes, right?

Even though they're only in session at the capital in St. Paul from mid-January through mid-May, state lawmakers in the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate are usually pretty busy each year.

ALSO INTERESTING: With Deadline Approaching in Minnesota, What Happens if You Don't Get a REAL ID?

The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library notes that the Minnesota Legislature passed approximately 150 laws during its regular session in 2024. That follows previous years that saw 74 laws passed in 2023, 68 laws passed in 2022, 45 laws in 2021, and 73 laws passed in 2020.

And now, there's a proposal that's been introduced by Democratic Farm Labor (DLF) lawmakers in both the Minnesota House and Senate that would add yet another new tax, this time on social media.

Wait, what? So, just how can the state of Minnesota tax us for using social media? Well, Minnesota wouldn't be taxing you and me; they would instead be taxing those individual social media platforms like Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, X, Bluesky and others, this Minnesota Legislature story says.

According to this Fox 9 story, the proposal would work like this:

It would charge an escalating tax on social media platforms based on their number of users in Minnesota. Sites with more than 100,000 users would be subject to tax. There are 14 of those right now, according to the Department of Revenue.

Given the estimated usage for those 14 social media platforms, the story goes on to explain that bill estimates that the new social media tax could raise around $92 million in revenue per year in Minnesota. The Bold North would also be the first state in the country to enact a tax on social media, the story said.

Fox 9 also notes that while the DFL proposal passed committee votes in both the House and Senate, it's likely to run into trouble getting support from Republican lawmakers, who say the new tax could 'impact small businesses that rely on social media,' so its future is uncertain.

Listen to Curt St. John & Samm Adams
Weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5