Kristi and Aaron Norman of Rochester have always dreamed of raising a family. And thanks to adoption, they are now the proud parents of two young children.

Raising children can be expensive, especially for a young family. Costs for child care, medical care, and clothing can add up quickly. But there is one expense the Normans did not expect when they adopted their daughter last year: state adoption taxes.

When the Normans adopted their daughter in July 2013, Aaron's employer helped defray half of the $20,000 it took to complete the adoption process. The Normans were grateful for the generous help Aaron's employer.

But after struggling to pay for their half of the adoption, Kristi and Aaron found out they would still owe between $700 and $800 in state taxes on the reimbursement they received from Aaron's employer. The Normans were surprised that the state would make adoption more expensive. After all, Aaron pointed out, "Minnesota should encourage adoption, not hinder it."

That is why this session, Governor Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature worked to eliminate state taxes on adoption assistance, which will save the Normans and other adoptive parents hundreds of dollars this year, and may encourage even more families to make the choice to adopt a child in Minnesota.

Middle Class Tax Cuts

This year, Governor Dayton and the DFL Legislature worked quickly to enact $508 million in tax cuts that will benefit over 1 .2 million middle class Minnesotans, and thousands of Minnesota businesses. Some of those tax cuts took effect immediately, including tax-free adoption assistance.

This story may be viewed as a /governor/assets/2014_04_12_normans_adoption_assistance_tcm1055-100705.pdfPDF file. You also can learn more about all the /governor/assets/2014_03_21_middle_class_tax_cuts_tcm1055-100663.pdftax cuts enacted by Governor Dayton here.