MN-SD45: GOP Senate candidate received a tax break for a townhouse she doesn't live in
Kathleen Fowke, the Republican candidate running in the November special election for Senate District 45, last year received a homestead property tax break for a property she doesn’t live in and outside the district she hopes to represent.
Fowke, a west metro real estate agent and wife of former Xcel Energy CEO Ben Fowke, lives in a Tonka Bay home valued at nearly $4.9 million, but they do not claim it as their homestead for tax purposes, according to Hennepin County property records. Properties valued over $413,800 do not qualify for the tax exclusion.
Instead, Fowke, via an LLC, declares a Plymouth townhome as a “relative” homestead — meaning a relative lives there — and receives a legal property tax break despite owning millions of dollars in property, underscoring how wealthy people are often able to use the tax code to their advantage with shrewd planning.
Republicans hope Fowke can win an upset in the special Senate election — the sole state Senate race on the ballot in November — to replace former Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, who resigned from her seat in June to run for Congress. Morrison beat Fowke by over 12 percentage points in 2022.
https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/09/10/gop-senate-candidate-received-a-tax-break-for-a-townhouse-she-doesnt-live-in/
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