Back in February, Governor Doyle introduced a budget proposal that would raise Wisconsin’s taxes by a staggering $3 billion dollars. The legislature’s budget-writing committee, upon which I sit, recently got the first crack at revising the Governor’s proposal. While I am pleased my fellow Republicans were able to trim a bit from the Governor’s bloated budget, the sheer magnitude of this document’s taxing and spending increases is unacceptable for Wisconsin’s middle class families.
On a series of tie votes on the evenly divided committee, Democrats voted to keep nearly all of the Governor’s historic tax hike plans in the budget. The bottom line is that if you own a home, drive a car or get sick, the Democrats want you to pay more in taxes. The tax increases in this budget that I voted against:
• raising the cost of each gallon of gas by up to seven cents, under a tax increase that will be borne by Wisconsin motorists
• allowing property taxes to jump by $1.2 billion
• doubling the “Home Tax,” which means someone selling an average Wisconsin home would now have to pay over $1,000 in taxes on that transaction
• raising the “Sick Tax,” which creates a new tax on hospitals and increases health care costs
• hiking the nursing home bed tax by over $50 per bed each month
In addition to simply voting against new tax increases, I joined my fellow Republicans who voted for tax cuts, including:
• an across-the-board state individual income tax cut
• an increased income tax deduction for children and other dependents
• an increased tax cut for college savings programs and retirement plans
• a capital gains tax cut
• a state income tax credit for individuals who use a Health Savings Account to pay medical bills
Unfortunately, these tax cuts were defeated along party-line votes, but the budget battle is not over yet. Rest assured I will continue to vote against tax hikes and vote for tax cuts.
To provide some feedback on this column, contact me at (800) 863-1113, or sen.darling@legis.wi.gov.
