The Mahtomedi girl received an MP3 player for Christmas along with gift cards to download music onto the player from iTunes, said her mother, Lorayne Simpson. The cards will go only so far if a bill in the Legislature requiring sales tax on digital downloads makes it past Gov. Tim Pawlenty's desk, Simpson said.

So with her mother, Cheyanne attended the annual Tax Cut Rally in St. Paul on Saturday, and she carried a sign that read: "Taxes are not music to my ears."

People from across the state converged at the Capitol for this year's rally. The passage of two bills that would raise taxes — one in the House and one in the Senate — about a week ago provided fodder for the gathering. The message to state leaders from those who gathered Saturday was direct: cut spending and pass no new taxes.

That was also Pawlenty's message.

"We are not going to raise taxes in the state of Minnesota," said the governor, who threatened to veto any tax increase that reaches his desk. "This state is taxed enough."

At a time when people are tightening their belts, government should be doing the same thing, said Patty Mudek, of Inver Grove Heights.

"I think during this economy ... the last thing that makes any sense is raising taxes," Mudek said.

Last week, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed a bill that included tax increases on items such as cigarettes and liquor and eliminated dozens of income and corporate tax breaks. The measure would raise $1.5 billion over the next two years.

The Senate also passed a $2.2 billion tax increase that relies mostly on income tax increases.

Supporters have said the increases are needed to help reduce a $4.6 billion shortfall from the next two-year state budget.

"The fact is we have a budget crisis of historic proportions, and if we don't raise a reasonable amount of revenue to continue funding vital public investments, we will threaten our prospects for long-term prosperity," said Dane Smith, president of Growth & Justice, a progressive St. Paul-based think tank.

A reasonable return to tax levels from a few years ago is necessary to educate children, take care of the elderly and other disadvantaged people, and build first-class transportation and infrastructure, Smith said.

Deanna Strauss moved from St. Paul to North Carolina last fall in part because of high taxes, she said. She returned to Minnesota after not finding a job — only to learn that her prospects here aren't much better.

"The taxes up here ... are chasing a lot of businesses away, and they are chasing a lot of jobs away," Strauss said.

Local conservative talk-radio host Jason Lewis, an organizer of the rally, described taxes as a moral issue. Like political and civil liberties, economic liberty must be protected, he said.

"I think we all believe in faith, hope and opportunity," he told the crowd. "But none of those is possible without freedom, prosperity and ... the right to be left alone."

Brady Gervais can be reached at 651-228-2171