Property taxes on a median-valued Wisconsin home could go up anywhere from $50 to more than $100 on the bills sent out this December under Gov. Jim Doyle's budget, which would loosen school revenue limits and municipal levy limits and cut shared revenue.

But top Doyle administration officials cautioned a lot will depend on how local school districts treat the federal stimulus money they receive.

DOA Deputy Secretary Dan Schooff told a WisconsinEye reporter roundtable Friday that chunks of the stimulus money don't count toward state-imposed revenue limits. If districts use the extra federal money to reduce the burden on property taxpayers, the increase on a median-valued Wisconsin home likely would be less than $100. If districts go the maximum under the revenue limits in addition to the federal money, it could be another $25 on top of that, he said.

Separately, state budget director Dave Schmiedicke told WisPolitics.com the increase could be as small as $50 for that median-valued home. But he said it's difficult to gauge as the state waits to see how locals use the federal stimulus money.

Schooff told the roundtable Doyle was able to use $2.1 billion in federal stimulus money to prevent things like laying off teachers and double-digit property tax increases.

Doyle's administration estimated the property tax bill on the typical Wisconsin home went up $4 on the bills sent out in December 2008, compared to the year before.

But things could be different this year. Doyle's budget would maintain revenue limits on Wisconsin school districts, but it would allow districts with higher-than-average costs for safety, transportation and nursing to exceed the caps to cover those costs. He also once again proposed eliminating the qualified economic offer on teacher salaries, but this time he's likely to get it with the Legislature under Dem control.

The guv also proposed a levy limit on local governments of 3 percent or new construction, whichever is higher. That's looser than the cap of 2 percent or new construction that Doyle imposed in the second year of the current budget. The first year of the 2007-09 budget imposed a cap of 3.86 percent.

Along with the levy limits, the budget also proposes a small cut in shared revenue. It's less than what local officials had feared, but it will have a negative effect, nonetheless.

Watch the roundtable with Schooff here.

Business tax changes could add millions to state coffers

Besides the well-publicized inclusion of combined reporting in his 2009-11 budget, Doyle's proposal also could send ripples through the business world by adding millions of dollars annually to state coffers.

--Among them, Doyle recommends "decoupling" from the Qualified Production Activities Deduction, a fed Internal Revenue Code provision from the American Jobs Act of 2004. Repealing the deduction would mean more money for the state -- $38.2 million in FY '10 and $33.5 million in FY '11.

--Doyle also wants pass-through entities to make quarterly instead of annual estimated payments of withholding tax for nonresident members to be consistent with the current treatment of resident members. This move would grab estimated tax revenue of $38.5 million in FY '10.

--He's also recommending requiring income from "throwback sales" to be treated equal to income from normal sales for corporate income tax computation purposes. Throwback sales are sales shipped out of Wisconsin to states without income tax jurisdiction over the company or sales shipped out of state to the federal government. The fiscal impact in increased taxes would be $57.7 million in FY '10 and $37.5 million in FY '11.

--In addition, Doyle wants a change in the tax code to specify that if an affiliated entity is treated as part of the parent company for the purpose of income tax liability, it should also be liable for the same treatment in sales tax. The fiscal impact would be $19.8 million in FY '10 and $21 million in FY '11.

--In another proposal, an economic nexus standard for Internet businesses would require amendment of the statutory definition of a retailer engaged in business in Wisconsin to include an Internet retailer that has an affiliate physically located in the state that makes similar sales. Impact: $1.5 million annually.

Finally, there is are some proposals that will save taxpayers money. For example, Doyle proposes an Internal Revenue Code update to include provisions from 14 previously enacted federal laws going back to 2005. The changes will reduce tax collections by $40.6 million in FY '10 and $5.5 million in FY '11. The biggest item is adoption of a federal law that waives the requirement that people 70-and-a-half years of age make minimum distributions from their retirement accounts. The waiver lets the senior citizens avoid distributions during the troubled economy at no penalty. The change will save the seniors $17.9 million in FY '10, and $6.1 million in FY '11.

-- By WisPolitics Staff