Seeking to Raise the Sales Tax
A state senator and a county government association don’t think Wisconsinites pay enough taxes. Both State Senator Jon Erpenbach and Wisconsin Counties Association’s executive director Mark O’Connell want to eliminate some exemptions to the state sales tax.
Erpenbach claims, “It’s not a tax increase.” Let’s think about this. Currently the sales tax is only applied to certain goods. Services and essential goods aren’t taxed. The Madison-area state senator wants to tax all goods and services except “food; drugs and health care services; shelter and agricultural products.” More people will be paying more for more goods and services. In my book that’s a tax increase. Yet according to Erpenbach, “Most everybody, at the end of the day, will have more money in their pocket.” How? He doesn’t say.
Erpenbach says his idea as a way to move public school funding off the property tax. Of course that’s a shell game. The state lottery was suppose to be the answer to rising property taxes. Taxes still rose. If Erpenbach wants to be taken seriously he should combine his plan with a property tax freeze or (dare I even say it) a cut so taxpayers aren’t stuck paying higher sales taxes with no property tax relief.
Mark O’Connell who represents county governments it’s just a money grab. He just wants the increased money from a more wide-ranging sales tax.
Then read how O’Connell views economic activity:
“I’d be fascinated to hear” why hair salons, nail salons and barbershops deserve a tax break worth more than $29 million a year and why health clubs think they deserve a sales tax exemption valued at about $3.3 million a year, O’Connell said.
To O’Connell we must defend any economic activity that doesn’t involve paying something to government. His default setting is government should get its cut. Taxpayers are simply serfs.
To add insult to injury O’Connell brings up the “quality of life” canard:
We continue to believe that we can tax-cut our way to prosperity when, in reality, the wealth-makers of tomorrow are more interested in a quality of life. If we wish to create a sustainable solution for Wisconsin’s future, we should be investing in our communities, making them attractive to smart young people.”
According to the Tax Foundation [PDF] Wisconsin has the seventh-highest level of state and local taxes in the nation. Arizona and Tennessee are two states much lower on the list. From personal experience they seem to be doing just fine with their quality of life. They have paved roads, schools that function, police and fire departments.
The notion that government’s problem is a lack of money is absurd. We will not tax Wisconsin into prosperity.
“Sales Tax Exemptions Come Under Scrutiny”
His default setting is government should get its cut.
Well, yeah, it should. Government does a lot of things that benefit everybody, not just taxpayers. Health clubs benefit from the things government does. Taxing them isn’t a money grab, it’s making them pay their fair share, like the rest of us.