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3/8/2010 Walker promises -- so many questions, so few answers By Steve Walters The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com. Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker’s bold campaign promise to "create 250,000 new jobs" has seen plenty of attention -- and angry push-back from Democrats, who dismissed it as meaningless rhetoric. The Milwaukee County executive says his policies would bring those new jobs by 2015, which would be the final year of his first term as governor. Dems say it's unrealistic because it amounts to ending unemployment statewide. But there was plenty more in Walker's Feb. 23 speech before members of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state's largest business group, that needs both clarification and benchmarking: **Walker: "I want to lower the tax on employers..." First clarifying question: By “employers,” Scott, do you mean all Wisconsin businesses? If so, you're referring to the "corporate income and franchise" tax, which totaled $629.5 million last year, and is projected to go up -- by 11 percent -- to $700 million this year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Democratic legislators, who said they were closing a "Las Vegas" tax-avoidance loophole, and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle last year raised taxes paid by large, multi-state companies. Specifically, will you recommend cutting -- or even abolishing -- the $700 million corporate income tax? Or, were you referring to payroll taxes businesses pay to finance unemployment benefits? If so, remember that Wisconsin's unemployment insurance fund is out of cash, after paying a record $3.2 billion in jobless benefits last year. Right now, Wisconsin has borrowed $1.1 billion from the federal government; by the end of the year that debt is expected to be $1.9 billion, which doesn’t include interest (that must be added in 2011). There are only two ways to repay the federal loan, experts say: Raise taxes on employers, or cut benefits to the jobless. Which of those two changes -- and what exact changes -- are you recommending, Scott? **Walker: "I want to ... lower the tax on income ..." When they meet the April 15 tax-filing deadline, Wisconsin residents are expected to pay $6.15 billion in income taxes. That’s a drop of about 1 percent -- or $67.7 million – from last year, according to Fiscal Bureau experts. Clarifying question: With personal income tax collections projected to go down, due to the recession, how exactly would you cut the personal income tax, Scott? **Walker: "I want to ... freeze property taxes ..." Wisconsin’s high property taxes are making homeowners mad again. Two reasons why: The recession forced cuts in state aid to schools and local governments, so property taxes on homes went up the most – by a statewide average of 2.2 percent – when tax bills were mailed in December. And, those higher bills also came at a time when many home values fell; the assessed value of the typical Wisconsin home fell from $171,840 in 2008 to $167,974 last year, the Fiscal Bureau also reported. Clarifying questions: Scott, would you freeze property taxes only on homes, or also on other types of property (manufacturing, commercial, farmland, utilities)? As you know, singling out homes for new tax breaks might require a change in the state constitution’s “uniformity” clause. Also, please define “freeze.” Do you really mean no year-to-year increase in anyone’s tax bill on their home? Or, would you tie the year-to-year increase in a homeowner’s tax bill to the growth in property values locally, or growth statewide? And, if a home value continues to fall, would your “freeze” lower property taxes on that home, or just keep them the same as last year? **Walker: ”10,000 new businesses to Wisconsin by 2015.” Benchmark question: You say your economic development plans would invite 10,000 new businesses, but from what date? From January 2011, when you would take office as governor? Here’s why the start-the-clock date matters: The recession has caused the number of registered for-profit Wisconsin businesses to drop, according to state Department of Financial Institutions records. According to DFI, there were 311,663 for-profit Wisconsin businesses registered on Feb. 28 -- a drop of 2 percent in just nine months. And the 311,663 businesses registered on Feb. 28 was a 3.6 percent decrease from the mid-2008 total. After your speech, Scott, you said these were just broad campaign goals -- for now -- and specific details of exactly what you are proposing will be forthcoming. Wisconsin voters are waiting. --Walters, a senior producer at WisconsinEye, is the former Capitol bureau chief of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Walters can be reached at steven.walters@wiseye.org |
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