Profiling the Legislature: Sen. Chris DeLaForest.

Byline: Frank Jossi

Chris DeLaForest (49A) has been thinking a lot lately about taxes and asking a disarmingly simple question: Why does the state tax property? He paints a hypothetical scenario about a blue collar couple living on 20 acres they bought two decades ago in Ham Lake, a city in his district. The property today is worth at least $2 million, making the taxes unaffordable to a family of modest means. "I wonder if Minnesota just shouldn't stop taxing property," he says. "Property taxation is absolutely divorced from the notion that a person should pay taxes in some relationship to their wealth. Seeing property as a proxy for wealth comes from an agrarian society that doesn't exist anymore." That's the kind of thinking DeLaForest, 38, has come to be known for during his three terms as a conservative Republican from Anoka County. He's a proud tax dweeb who is capable of deep dives into tax legislation that would put many of his colleagues to sleep. "I think Chris is exceptionally bright and he has a great mind for big policy issues," says Rep. Paul Kohls (34A), a Republican colleague and friend of DeLaForest since their days at the University of Minnesota's Law School. "He has the ability to dig into details, doing the kind of work other members rely on staff for. He has a great grasp of issues beyond the usual 50,000-foot level of most legislators." Kohls points to legislation DeLaForest has authored that would remove a particularly onerous tax burden Minnesota businesses have when they purchase capital equipment. That and other tax-reduction measures DeLaForest authored last session died when Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the tax bill. Still, DeLaForest plans to press on with tax-reduction proposals and continue supporting controversial measures such as using bonds for roads and bridges. "I disagree with folks who say we shouldn't bond for bridges but then they come with their own bill that says 'we should bond for an interpretative center in my district,'" he says. "It's a matter of the highest, best use of tax dollars." On the specific issue of eliminating the property tax, DeLaForest hedges his argument by suggesting the debate is worth having even if he does not have any proposals for replacing lost revenue. DeLaForest says his focus on tax issues comes down to Minnesota's competitiveness in the regional, national and global economies. He sees Wisconsin's equalized tax rates - commercial and residential pay the same rate - as a fairer deal and believes South Dakota's rock-bottom industrial property tax is a major reason for the growth in Sioux Falls, some of it fueled by expansions made by Minnesota-based businesses. "Minnesota is extremely uncompetitive when it comes to industrial property taxation - our commercial and industrial taxes are out of hand, they're significantly higher than our ...