End Notes

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "When I bought my two schnauzers, I paid taxes for them." Sen. Ember Reichgott Junge, DFL-New Hope, arguing against a law under which horses would be defined as livestock rather than pets, thus becoming exempt from the sales tax.

THE LITTLE TAX BREAK THAT COULD: A couple of weeks ago, we brought you news (For the Record 2/28) that state legislators had found a $3.5 million benefit for Northwest Airlines inside a tax bill and promptly killed it in committee. Now the measure--which reduces taxes on out-of-state companies leasing planes to Northwest, in turn saving the airline money--is back again, having been amended onto the omnibus tax bill in the state Senate. Sen. Sandra Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) warned that an airline reaping record profits following a 1993 public bailout wasn't in the best position to ask for more relief, but her argument didn't seem to go over well: The amendment passed committee and survived a Senate floor vote Tuesday.