Inside the tax battles Tim Walz fought — and won — in Minnesota

• Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has a tense relationship with some of his state's business interests
• Walz's battles with business have a common theme: Walz supported higher taxes on the rich or on businesses, and corporate leaders fought back.
• Business groups and executives who met with Walz say they were left with the impression that Walz didn't really compromise.

Six years before Tim Walz was tapped to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, he was busy running for governor of Minnesota. Shortly before Election Day, Walz huddled with dozens of business leaders at a luxurious hotel off the shores of Gull Lake.

Eric Gibson, then president of Ultra Machining Company, recalled asking Walz whether the Democrat believed that high corporate and state taxes hurt workers.

"We're not taxing people," Walz replied, according to Gibson. "We're taxing businesses."

For Geoff Baker, "it was a bit of an 'oh s---' moment," he recalled to CNBC, confirming Gibson's account. "That's not what I wanted to hear," said Baker, president of McFarland Truck Lines.

Minnesota currently taxes corporate income at 9.8%. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation says that's the highest corporate tax rate of any state in the nation.

Walz's approach to corporate and other business related taxes hasn't changed noticeably since that meeting on Gull Lake. Especially not since Democrats secured a trifecta majority in 2022, taking control of the state House, the Senate and the governor's office.

"It's been tense," said Douglas Loon, president and CEO of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, describing the trade association's relationship with Walz. The chamber has over 6,000 members, including Fortune 500 giants like Target,