Gov. Mark Dayton's proposals this year include a half-cent metro-area sales tax increase to pay for transit. In my industry as a jeweler, our sales tax is already high enough to drive a very high percentage of diamond buyers online to avoid many hundreds of dollars in tax on their once-in-a-lifetime, expensive engagement ring purchase.

Instead of raising the sales tax, how about embracing the inevitable and legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana? New taxes collected could be designated for infrastructure renewal without raising sales taxes and driving more business out of state. This could be quite a boon to our economy, provided lawmakers strike a good tax rate balance to avoid driving pot sales underground.

James Roettger, Minneapolis

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