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Wisconsin Recovers Website
The new Wisconsin Recovers website is officially open to show how the stimulus helped Wisconsin communities. This website is sponsored by Wisconsin Voices and is designed to be clear, easy to use and helpful in finding out how the Recovery Act funding affected you, your family and your county. wisrecovers.org
For more information, contact Jack Norman at IWF -- jnorman@wisconsinsfuture.org
IWF coordinates national meeting on the campaign for federal aid to support communities, schools and families in crisis
On July 13-14, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland, over 95 delegates from 23 states met to hear from national economic experts, pollsters and communications gurus to kickstart a grassroots organizing drive in support of extending federal recovery aid to communities throughout the United States. The participants included researchers, local officials, teacher union leaders, ministers, congregational organizers and community activists. The goal was to prepare for state-based efforts to generate active support for more federal funds to support vital services and systems...
Read more about the conference.
Harley-Davidson: No reason to re-open corporate tax loopholes
The highly-publicized Harley-Davidson situation has nothing to do with state tax policy, despite the efforts of many conservative commentators to link the two.
This is clear from facts about Harley’s taxes contained in a short new IWF report, Harley-Davidson: It’s not about state revenue policy.
The issue began when the firm announced it seeks concessions from unions representing 1,400 employees in Menomonee Falls and Tomahawk. Without concessions, the company said it might move headquarters and manufacturing out of Wisconsin, its home since 1903.
Anti-government forces exploited the situation into a forum for attacking last year’s enactment of combined reporting. Combined reporting is a reform of corporate income taxes that closes loopholes large firms had been using to avoid taxes.
That’s because combined reporting will cause a small increase in Harley taxes. But Harley’s state tax had already been slashed almost to zero by an earlier change to corporate income tax, a change that saved the company $14 million in 2008 alone.
Combined reporting ensures tax fairness. When some large corporations eliminate their Wisconsin tax liability, all others pay more to make up the difference. It’s a slanted playing field rewarding big companies willing to use aggressive tax-avoidance tactics.
As the Harley facts show—along with other new data contained in the report—combined reporting does not hinder a state’s ability to attract or retain jobs.
See the IWF report on Harley Davidson
See Jack Norman's op-ed piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Read the coverage in Milwaukee Magazine's Buzz
How Boeing’s ‘Cash Cow’ Approach to Local Government Threatens America’s Middle Class
People in Wisconsin remember last year’s debacle at Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac, where the company used the threat of leaving to force concessions from its union and massive tax breaks from city, county and state government.
The master of such a corporate strategy is The Boeing Company, the aerospace giant which thrives on government handouts. IWF’s latest report, Boeing’s Cash Cow: A corporate strategy’s impact on middle-class America, describes how Boeing relentlessly squeezes state and local governments for massive tax breaks while simultaneously demanding expensive public infrastructure and low-wage workers.
Boeing literally treats state and local governments as “cash cows” they can milk for tax breaks, low-cost financing and a host of other free or inexpensive services. The long-term effect of this corporate strategy is to eliminate the middle-class jobs that have sustained America’s prosperity.
Boeing doesn’t just force states to compete with each other for jobs. Its global production strategy means that it forces U.S. states to compete as well with the federal states of Germany, the counties of Britain, the provinces of Spain, the prefectures of Japan, the regions of Italy, the departments of France.
The Boeing story is a case study of what the Wall Street Journal recently called the new “global tax competition.” It is depleting public resources everywhere, even as the demands for public structures and services soar. As the report shows, in the long run, Boeing’s demands are a recipe for economic disaster and the deconstruction of America’s middle class.
See the IWF report
Closing state’s billion-dollar tax gap would help budget
Wisconsin loses $1.2 billion every year due to the “Tax Gap,” the difference between what is legally owed by taxpayers and what is actually paid. This equals one out of every $10 collected by the state as general purpose revenue. The estimate is in a new IWF report: Wisconsin’s Billion-Dollar Tax Gap—How uncollected taxes can help fill the state’s budget hole.The tax gap is important because the loss of over one billion dollars a year means less state aid to cities, towns, counties and schools. The reduced state aid results in program cuts that raise class size, slow firefighter response time and deliver fewer meals on wheels to the elderly. At the same time, property taxes go up to make up for lost state dollars. It’s a double whammy for responsible citizens and business owners who file their tax returns, pay their taxes and support the services and infrastructure needed for stable and prosperous communities. Who’s not paying taxes? Some of it is people making honest mistakes or being confused by complex tax laws. But a good deal of it is deliberate:
- Individuals, business owners and corporations skipping out on paying income tax;
- Internet buyers and others avoiding sales tax;
- Smokers sneaking around the cigarette tax by going out of state.
What should be done?
State officials need ongoing information on how large the gap is, who is not paying and what mechanisms they are using to sidestep their responsibility. Technology upgrades are needed to improve online taxpayer services, communications and outreach as well as e-filing and the use of electronic databases for audits and collections. The Department of Revenue needs full staffing so it can fulfill its mission.
It’s time to simplify tax laws so they are clear. Wisconsin’s tax structure is too complicated due to the proliferation of new exemptions, deductions and credits which makes tax laws too long, too wordy and too easy to manipulate.
Read the report, Wisconsin’s Billion-Dollar Tax Gap—How uncollected taxes can help fill the state’s budget hole
See the press release
Note to Tea Party -- the Federal Stimulus gave us tax cuts !!!!
In Wisconsin (and every other state), tax cuts from the federal stimulus have been raining cats and dogs. Thanks to the federal stimulus, Wisconsin individuals, families and businesses are seeing a $5.2 billion tax cut over the 2009-2010 tax periods. Who's getting these tax cuts? EVERYBODY!
Each of Wisconsin’s 2.2 million working families or individuals is receiving a tax cut averaging $506 per year in 2009 and 2010 through the Making Work Pay credit. That’s enough to pay for a month’s worth of groceries, and it amounts to a statewide tax cut worth $2.3 billion. And there are many more tax cuts and direct aid that benefit diverse groups of citizens and companies.
While banks have kept a tight hold on their funds, the federal government has been pumping money into the economy consistently since February 2009 through the stimulus—the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—to prevent an economic collapse.
This recession has been painful for the people of Wisconsin who have lost jobs, pensions, home values and, sometimes, hope. The federal government has been a constant target of anger and frustration because people want to blame someone, and the bankers who created this catastrophe have faded back into their skyscrapers. However, for those who want government to cut taxes and put money into people’s pockets to jumpstart the economy: Open your eyes. Your wish has already been granted.
See: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article
IWF Conference Examines Property Tax Exemptions
Who isn’t paying their share of property taxes?
That was the focus of attention for about eighty local officials and other leaders—from over 30 Wisconsin communities—at an all-day conference in Madison, February 19, sponsored by IWF.
The conference was titled Rethinking Ways to Fund Local Government: Exploring Property Tax Exemptions.
Particular attention was paid to large nonprofit health-care systems; real estate speculators who abuse agricultural assessment; billboard owners; and nonprofit housing for affluent seniors.
For more details and ongoing coverage of property tax issues, see IWF’s Property Tax Reform page.The Twisted Saga of Mercury Marine
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Mercury Marine continues to punish its workers: the Fond du Lac company (owned by Brunswick Corp.) is giving bonuses to managers just after imposing huge pay cuts on production workers.
In These Times magazine details the latest in the Mercury Marine sage, and includes considerable material from IWF’s report on the company last year, The Twisted Saga of Mercury Marine.
Mercury Marine has been the most dramatic corporate story in Wisconsin in 2009. The corporation pressured workers in Fond du Lac to accept large concessions. In addition, Fond du Lac County and City gave the firm $53 million in incentive packages – covered by taxpayers. The state is offering more. Why did this crisis occur?
IWF’s latest report, The Twisted Saga of Mercury Marine, provides new disclosures about Mercury Marine (aka Brunswick Corporation), including the fact that its parent company, Brunswick Corporation, hasn’t paid a penny of state income tax during this entire decade.
Illinois-based Brunswick has been in a financial meltdown since CEO Dustan McCoy became head of the firm in December 2005. Nearly 40% of its workers have lost their jobs; those remaining face reduced pay and benefits. Brunswick shareholders lost over 70% of their stock value. White-collar managers say they have been betrayed by the company. Brunswick closed 50% of its factories, in South Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee and, now, Oklahoma.
See Roger Bybee’s story in In These Times.
For a full version of the report, click here.
See the news coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
View the PowerPoint presentation from the press conference.
Catalog of tax options still very alive
It’s been more than a year since IWF and WCCF published a Catalog of Tax Reform Options for Wisconsin. The list of ways to increase state and local revenue is as relevant now as ever. Click here to see the full report.
Stand Up for Schools; Sign the Petition for "A Penny for Kids"
For over a decade, the state's proportion of the cost of quality education has declined leading to staff lay-offs, larger class sizes, cuts in programs and services, and rising property taxes. As part of the last biennial budget, things actually got worse when, in an unprecedented move, state aid was cut.
Our school-funding system is in crisis, and that crisis is leading to less education in our schools and higher property taxes on our homes. It is time to say, "Enough is enough.”
The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is asking you to sign a petition requesting the State to raise Wisconsin's sales tax by one penny. "A Penny for Kids" will put about $850 million a year toward saving programs and services in our schools and holding the line on property tax increases. It only makes sense.
You can be involved in this important effort by going to the "A Penny for Kids" website at http://www.apennyforkids.org and signing the petition to tell your elected officials you want them to do the right thing.