Fogelman supporting 100% fraud tax legislation in state House

In an effort to recoup some of the money stolen in fraud, District 21B Rep. Marj Fogelman is co-authoring legislation that would force criminals to pay a 100% fraud tax on the amount they stole from Minnesota’s taxpayers.

Said Fogelman in a recent press release:  “As if the $9 billion in estimated state fraud wasn’t bad enough, a recent media investigation found that since 2018, Minnesota has spent $20 billion on Medicaid programs labeled at high risk for fraud. Enough is enough. If these people can find a way to rip us off, they can find a way to pay us back.”

Fogelman, a Fulda Republican, said the 100% tax would apply to any person or organization convicted of fraud or who receives compensation in exchange for participating in fraudulent activity. The tax applies to convicted fraudsters in addition to the court-ordered restitution that they are already required to pay.

Fogelman noted the tax collected would then be put into a tax relief account, where it could only be used for income or property tax relief. She's optimistic about the bill's passage, as it has 35 authors in the House -- with roughly a third of them Democrats.