Right wing demagogues make a hobby of crying to high heaven over their property tax bills and fees, shouting "tax hell!" To stoke the fire, they lean heavily on intensely partisan Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) press releases without shame (State Senator Mary Lazich, in particular).
You might as well consult Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears about birth control.
As Paul Soglin writes in the Capital Times:
WMC is known for brandishing the weapon of fraudulent reports in an attempt to demean the Wisconsin business environment.
We see it most frequently when WMC trots out studies from the Tax Foundation, which distorts the Wisconsin tax picture, then says the Badger State is "tax hell." WMC ignores the more scholarly and accurate analysis done by University of Wisconsin professor Andrew Reschovsky, which shows that when we examine all government collections per person, Wisconsin ranks close to the middle of the 50 states.
You won't hear "tax hell" shouters talk about the fact that individual taxpayers have to pick up the slack for corporations who simply don't pay their fair share. The WMC won't let them; they advocate eliminating the corporate tax entirely.
So, as we examine our property tax bills this week, or read about Franklin's sewer rate hike, this tidbit should be foremost in our minds: Two-thirds of the more than 50,000 corporations that filed income tax returns with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in 2005 owed no taxes.
Surprise: Wisconsin Republicans - largely bought and paid for by their corporate clients - are against any tax scrutiny of corporate scofflaws. Their true colors are flying.
Previous posting: Property Taxes: "Why do we pay so much?"
See also James Rowen's post here.
From the Associated Press:
Update: Bill would target Wis. business tax loopholes
The Associated Press
Three of the nation’s largest corporations paid no corporate income tax in Wisconsin, according to the author of a new report that estimates tax loopholes cost the state $643 million last year.
Microsoft, drug-company Merck and Sears all paid no corporate income taxes in 2005 despite combined profits of more than $18 billion, said Jack Norman, research director of the Milwaukee-based Institute for Wisconsin’s Future.
The independent, nonpartisan institute released a report Wednesday that said businesses have used tax breaks, loopholes and profit shelters to avoid paying taxes. Norman identified three of the largest companies that didn’t pay any taxes at a Capitol news conference called to announce a new bill targeting the issue.
The proposal by Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, would require public companies to disclose more information to the state about taxes they are paying. Companies that do not pay Wisconsin taxes would have to explain why not.
The bill, to be introduced and scheduled for a hearing in January, also would require corporations to disclose their tax liability in the state, including any credits or exemptions they receive and subsidiaries that affect their taxable income.
Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, issued a statement attacking the bill for raising the “level of hostility toward Wisconsin employers to a new high.”
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which represents some of the state’s largest companies, also has come out against the bill, saying it would amount to badgering businesses. WMC has advocated eliminating the corporate income tax.
The bill itself won’t raise anyone’s taxes, Hansen and other supporters said. But it would provide more information about the level of tax avoidance in the state. It also would give auditors at the state Department of Revenue more tools to go after companies that owe, said Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar.
Jauch said the bill will be part of a series considered by a Senate committee he chairs on tax fairness that will attempt to close some of the tax loopholes.
Wisconsin is considered a leader in the nation already with disclosure laws that make public the amount of taxes paid by employers. But Norman said that information is difficult to get, especially given the number of subsidiaries companies set up.
And while Wisconsin would be the first in the country to have as broad a disclosure law as Hansen is proposing, it is being discussed in a number of states, Norman said.
Hansen’s bill would apply only to public companies, which Norman said is less than 1 percent of all businesses operating in the state. The information submitted by the companies would be made public after two years.
Two-thirds of the more than 50,000 corporations that filed income tax returns with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in 2005 owed no taxes, the institute said in its report.
Microsoft reported $12 billion in profits but paid nothing in Wisconsin, Norman said. Merck reported $5 billion but paid nothing and Sears had more than $1 billion in profits but paid no state tax, Norman said.
The report said corporate income tax amounted to 10.4 percent of the state’s general funds in 1980 but was just 7.1 percent by 2007 even though corporate profits more than doubled during that time.
The Democratic-leaning Institute for Wisconsin’s Future was founded in 1994 by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the Wisconsin Conference of Churches, and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. Its stated mission includes providing a progressive voice in policy debates that impact working families.
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