Relating to taxationARTICLE 1 REBATEModifying the automatic rebate mechanism; extending the biennial deadline for legislative action on the rebate plan presented to the governor by the commissioner of finance, requiring and providing for the commissioner of revenue to pay the rebate upon failure of legislature to act by the deadline; providing for a sales tax rebate payable in 2001 based on sales taxes paid by individuals in 1999 using information contained in the Minnesota tax incidence report; specifying taxpayer eligibility and prescribing the schedules for taxpayers filing jointly or separately, providing eligibility for certain additional state residents and nonresidents and defining income; requiring certain commissioner of revenue rebate adjustments, prohibiting adjustments after rebate processing; setting the maximum total rebate amount; requiring rebates not paid by a certain date to bear interest; providing for receipt of rebates by estates of deceased individuals after closing of the probate estates; including the rebate under the definition of Minnesota tax law for data disclosure purposes and in the definition of overpayment for delinquent tax liability purposes and subjecting the rebate to revenue recapture; taxpayer right to the rebate to expire after a certain date; granting the commissioner certain enforcement authority relating to forged or improperly endorsed checks and to overstated or erroneously issued rebates; authorizing the commissioner to take whatever action necessary to pay the rebates; authorizing payment by electronic funds transfer to certain individuals; appropriating money to the commissioner for rebates administration purposes and to the state treasurer for the cost of clearing sales tax rebate checks through commercial banks ARTICLE 2 INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX Reducing individual income tax rates; increasing the working family credit; reducing the alternative minimum tax (AMT) rate; reducing certain withholding tax rates for irregular period payments, payments to horse racing license holders and lottery winnings ARTICLE 3 - FEDERAL UPDATEUpdating certain state income tax provisions to changes in the internal revenue code (IRC) under the consolidated appropriation act of 2001, the installment tax correction act of 2000 and the FSC repeal and extraterritorial income exclusion act of 2000; updating the definition of internal revenue code for property tax refund and estate tax purposes ARTICLE 4 - PROPERTY TAX REFORMDefining certain terms for school district funding purposes and requiring certain levy adjustments by the commissioner of children, families and learning in consultation with the commissioner of revenue; reducing the general education tax rate and levy amount to zero and modifying the formulas for general education aid and referendum equalization revenue, levy and aid; modifying the determination of the unequalized referendum levy and changing referendum tax rate percentage to referendum tax mill rate; changing market value to residential assessed value for referendum levy purposes and net tax capacity to assessed value for certain assessment or adjustment purposes; modifying the property tax exemption for institutions of public charity and expanding the exemption for personal property used for pollution control; authorizing the commissioner of revenue to approve county assessor appointments on a probationary basis; extending the time limit for county commissioners to fill county assessor vacancies and clarifying the authority of the commissioners to terminate county assessor terms; authorizing county assessors to require the attendance of licensed assessors working in the county at department of revenue instructional meetings; specifying certain training and education requirements for property tax personnel; modifying certain limited market value determination procedures and valuation notice requirements; defining assessed value for property tax classification purposes; increasing the market value limits for the first tier of residential and agricultural homestead, commercial and industrial and certain nonhomestead residential property and reducing the classification rates for homestead, seasonal residential recreational, commercial and industrial, rental (apartment) and mining property; requiring and providing for commissioner of revenue annual inflation adjustment of certain valuation limits; providing for residential and agricultural homestead market value credits, specifying certain duties of county auditors and the commissioner; modifying the determination of household adjustment factor for homestead and agricultural credit aid (HACA) purposes, permanently reducing the aid to counties and eliminating the aid to cities, towns and school and special taxing districts; imposing a state tax on transmission and distribution lines; changing local boards of review or equalization to boards of appeal and equalization and eliminating certain county informational meeting requirements relating to the valuation of noncommercial seasonal residential recreational property; requiring the commissioner to prescribe the factors and methodology for use by county auditors for conversion of net tax capacity rate levy limit; modifying the application of the state tax levy, providing for computation of the tax rate by the commissioner and requiring commissioner certification of the rate in lieu of the state auditor; modifying certain proposed property tax notice and hearing (truth in taxation) requirements; modifying certain rate computation and tax list preparation duties of county auditors; authorizing and providing for city imposition of transportation utility fees; modifying certain property tax statement content requirements; excluding the general education tax rate from the local tax rate for tax levy apportionment purposes; modifying certain tax-forfeited land conveyance authority of the commissioner and the apportionment of proceeds from sales or rentals of tax-forfeited land; modifying the property tax refund schedules for homeowners and renters and the inflation adjustment requirement; establishing a sustainable forest property tax refund program, specifying property eligibility requirements and prescribing the application procedure, specifying certain covenant requirements, requiring county assessor submission to commissioner of classified parcels, requiring annual certification of continued land eligibility by landowners to the commissioner of revenue, requiring removal of the land from the program for failure to comply, entitling owners of land enrolled in the program to an annual refund, requiring commissioner removal of property from program for property tax delinquency, providing for landowner termination of enrollment and for appeal of decisions by the commissioner to remove nonqualifying land from the program, imposing certain penalties on owners of removed land; modifying certain tax increment pooling and computation provisions; providing for school district general education levy abatements; modifying the metropolitan council transit tax levy limit; modifying the definitions of population and city revenue need and defining population sprawl factor, density factor, tax capacity and city aid base for local government aid purposes; modifying the LGA distribution formulas for towns and cities and the payment dates and providing or modifying certain appropriations; requiring and providing for commissioner grants for deficits in TIF districts caused by changes in property tax classification rates and the elimination of the state determined general education property tax levy; specifying certain phrase replacement instructions to the revisor of statutes; repealing the general education tax rate establishment requirement of the commissioner, the expiration of school district referendum levy authority, the definitions of gross and net tax capacity, transit zone properties personal property tax, the education homestead and agricultural credits, a certain tax rate increase provision, attached machinery aid, the reduction in state TIF aid, certain LGA definitions, a certain provision providing for additional money for city LGA, the definition of constant spending levy amount for proposed property tax notice purposes, certain tax forfeited land conveyance and reversion provisions and the Minnesota tree growth tax lawARTICLE 5 CORPORATE FRANCHISE TAX REFORMDefining insurance company for franchise tax purposes and exempting insurance companies with a gross premium tax liability from the tax; modifying the net income apportionment formula and providing an apportionment formula for telecommunications service providers; repealing the apportionment formula for certain mail order businesses ARTICLE 6 SALES TAXExpanding the sales tax on services and providing a direct exemption for capital equipmentARTICLE 7 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER TAXReducing the gross earnings tax on hospitals, surgical centers and health care providers and wholesale drug distributors (ra)