Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Wisconsin Tax Reform? It's the SPENDING

You won't hear much about this from Madistan, of course.

...In order to keep the sales tax rate low, Berry said the state would need to follow Washington State in levying taxes on things like food and real estate sales, both currently tax free in Wisconsin. He said the state would also need to decide to reduce spending.

"If you look at the states that don't have an income tax, they all spend less per capita than we do," Berry said.

According to Berry, the state property and income taxes are around 25 percent higher than the national average, while the sales tax is 15 percent lower. He said the state could work to balance the two.

"There's no question that there's a need for tax reform," Berry said. "We haven't had a comprehensive discussion in decades."
...

Notice Berry's emphasis on SPENDING?  That'll be in the memory-hole tomorrow.

A separate news report indicates that someone suggests dropping the income tax altogether and replacing it with the sales tax.  That's an interesting possibility--jt's akin to the 'fair tax' which we favor.  But unless spending controls--tight ones--are in place and virtually immobile, taxes will continue to escalate.

2 comments:

Billiam said...

Also, keep in mind that states that have no income tax have higher fees for things like hunting/fishing licenses, vehicle registration, etc. They'll get their $$ one way or another. Spending MUST be cut, but, it's a very hard sell to the addicts of the public dole.

Anonymous said...

And monkey boy, keep in mind that states with no income tax take more federal dollars than the others who are more self sufficient.