WisPolitics Budget Blog

Rep. Huebsch said the Republican packages addresses the need to reduce the tax burden on Wisconsin residents.

"(The tax cuts) will give individuals in this state the opportunity to keep more of the money they earn in their own pockets and not send it to Madison," he said.

He invited the Dems to review the proposal and determine which cuts they would like to prioritize.

Sen. Robson said the Senate Democrats are focused on the issue of tax fairness. Homeowners shoulder 70 percent of the state's property tax burden, while businesses and corporations pay just 6 percent of the state's total property tax, she said.

Robson touted the $1.7 billion in tax breaks in the Senate Democrats' budget, including tax deductions for college tuition, child care and other "meat and potato issues facing families."

She commended the Republicans for dropping the tax break for gold bullion sellers, but said she was "diappointed" they didn't include in their package the $1.25 per pack tax increase on cigarettes.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

See it here.

Among the positions is a reversal on the tax exemption for gold bullion sales that the Democrats have been hammering the Republicans on.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

There are a whole mess of stand-alone motions being worked through. Currently under consideration is a motion from Rep. Vos and Sen. Taylor to repeal current law provisions that sunset the 1.59 percent tax rate on revenues from the sale of electricity for resale and extend the 1.59 percent tax rate indefinitely under the state's gross revenues taxes on light, heat, and power companies and electric coops.

The motion passes 16-0.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

On an 8-8 partisan vote, the GOP general fund tax break package for economic development and job creation initiatives failed.

UPDATE: The GOP's education package meets a similar fate; it fails on an 8-8 party-line vote.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

On an 8-8 partisan vote, the GOP health care package fro general tax funds fails.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

In addition to the health care package introduced by the GOP, there is also an education package now circulating. It includes an expansion of deductions for contributions to, and earnings on, Wisconsin section 529 college savings programs. It would reduce individual income tax revenues by $8.5 million in 2008-09.

Also, it provides a sales tax exemption for building materials, which will reduce tax revenues by $14.7 million over the biennium.

It also creates and educational improvement tax credit for contributions by busineses to scholarship granting organizations. Estimated tax impact: $21.7 million over the biennium.

Finally, it creates a non-public education expenses credit, a non-refunable individual income tax credit for education expenses paid for dependents who attend K-12 private schools up to $2,500. Tax impact $90 million in 2008-09.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

The motion failed 8-8 along partisan lines.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

As the panel continues to discuss the Dem general fund tax omnibus, there is also a GOP motion floating around that includes health savings accounts and a workplace wellness tax credit.

The estimated tax impact of the health savings account is a reduction of $13.1 million in 2008-09 in individual income tax revenues.

For the workplace wellness initiative, estimated reduction in tax reveneus is $4.2 million over the biennium.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

There is an omnibus motion from the Dems, authored by Decker, that makes some modifications to the general fund tax provisions in the governor's budget. Briefly, some of the proposals:

Budget paper 315, alt. 2

Budget paper 316, delete the governor's proposal to increase the maximum college tuition reduction to $6,000 per eligible student per year, and specify that the deduction would apply with respect to mandatory student fees as well as tutiion expenses. The motion would increase the state income tax revenues by $4 million over the biennium.

Budget paper 317, delete the governor's proposal to create an income tax deduction for child and dependent care expenses, and provide a non-refundable individual income tax credit equal to 8.4 percent of the federal credit claimed for 2008, 16.7 percent for 2009, 25.1 percent in 2010. Thereafter, it would be 33.4 percent.

Budget paper 332, adopt the governor's streamlined sales and use tax proposal.

According to LFB, change to the bill: +$375,000 GPR-REV and +$6 million GPR.

Change to base: -$21.3 million GPR-REV, $75.8 million GPR, and $60,000 PR.

Said GOP Rep. Vos of the proposal, "Wow, I guess you guys thought even Jim Doyle refunded too many taxes."

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

The committee will now move on to general fund taxes, which will bring this thrilling session to a close.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes

The governor's proposal to double the real estate transfer fee remains in the budget.

The GOP motion to reduce the rate of the fee from $3 per $1,000 to $2 per $1,000 of value in 2009-10, and to $1 per thousand in 2010-11 ad thereafter failed on an 8-8 party line vote.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes, Real_Estate_Transfer_Fee

Sen. Decker's motion to modify the real estate transfer fee was rejected on an 8-8 vote along party lines.

The committee is now considering the GOP alternative to reduce the rate of the fee from $3 per $1,000 to $2 per $1,000 of value in 2009-10, and to $1 per thousand in 2010-11 ad thereafter. Under the proposal, the collections would be shared 60-40 among the state and the counties, and beginning in 2010-11 the counties would retain 100 percent of the fee.

Rep. Vos said the proposal is a "revenue upper" for counties. "If you care about providing additional revenues for counties, then the vote is yes," he said.

Decker said the proposal is "goofy," and the Republicans wouldn't propose it if they didn't know Democrats would defeat it on an 8-8 vote.

Decker was the second Democrat to invoke President Bush today, saying this motion from the Republicans is "what Bush and the Republicans in Congress did."

"You've gotta pay the bills - that's a fundamental responsibility of this Legislature and this committee," Decker said.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes, Real_Estate_Transfer_Fee

The committee votes 8-8, along party lines, on the proposal to delete the real estate transfer fee increase from the governor's budget.

Next, the committee takes up Sen. Decker's proposal to modify the governor's proposal by keeping transfers of properties of $200,000 or less at $3 per thousand, and raising the fee to $6 on properties exceeding $200,000. Under Decker's proposal, counties would continue to get 20 percent of fees collected at the $3 rate, and would get 10 percent on transfers at the $6 rate.

Meanwhile, committee Republicans are circulating a motion that would reduce the rate of the fee from $3 per $1,000 to $2 per $1,000 of value in 2009-10, and to $1 per thousand in 2010-11 ad thereafter.

Under the proposal, the collections would be shared 60-40 among the state and the counties, and beginning in 2010-11 the counties would retain 100 percent of the fee.

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes, Real_Estate_Transfer_Fee

Sen. Decker said deleting the governor's provision would "blow a massive hole" in the entire budget.

Rep. Pocan, who believe it or not used to work for the Wisconsin Realtors Association, drew on his experience with the realty group to say that increasing the fee would not impact the affordability of the housing market.

The WRA is opposed to raising the fee, and is backing a group running television commercials against the "home tax."

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said she wouldn't support the fee increase, and she is alarmed by the amount of spending and new fees in the budget. She said the services the real estate transfer fee funds are core government services, and should be paid for by GPR.

"We should not look at the real estate market as a way to bail out the courts," she said.

Rep. Vos agreed, saying the real estate market is a "very unstable funding source," and collections over the years have fluctuated greatly.

Rep. Suder said the governor's proposal is giving property owners "nightmares" and would hit middle class and lower income families the hardest. "The tax, any way you cut it, is regressive," he said.

Rep. Colon said like the Republicans earlier proposal on levy limits, their idea to delete this fee increase "defies reality."

"People want the courts off their property taxes. This will pay for it," he said. "We need solutions. We have enough rhetoric ... you have to put a solution on the table."

Labels: General_Fund_Taxes, Real_Estate_Transfer_Fee