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Rep. Terry Van Akkeren Voted for the New State Budget that Increases the State Tax Burden 
Rep. Terry Van Akkeren voted for for the new State Budget that increases the state tax burden.
Following is a listing of some of the larger tax increases that Wisconsin taxpayers, homeowners and consumers can expect to see in the months ahead due to Van Akerren's vote :
• Phone Tax – $107.5 million tax increase – Impose a 75-cent monthly tax on every wireless and land-based telephone number.
• Nursing Home Bed Tax – $71 million tax increase – Increase the tax on licensed beds in nursing homes from $75/month to $150/month in 2009-10, and from $150/month to $170/month in 2010-11.
• Cigarette/Tobacco Products Tax – $334.7 million tax increase – Increase the cigarette tax by $0.75/pack (from $1.77 to $2.52). In addition, increase the general tax rate on other tobacco products like cigars and moist snuff.
• Garbage Tax – $69 million tax increase – Increases the garbage tax from $5.90/ton to $13/ton – one of the highest in the nation.
• Income Tax – $287 million tax increase – Create a fifth individual income tax bracket with a marginal tax rate of 7.75% for small businesses structured as an LLC, “S-Corp”, sole proprietorship or partnership, individuals earning over $225,000 and joint filers over $300,000.
• Capital Gains Tax – $242 million tax increase – Decrease the individual income tax exclusion for long-term capital gains from 60% to 30%.
• Health Insurance Tax – $84.6 million tax increase – Postpone scheduled increases in the tax deductions for health insurance premiums.
• Hospital Health Care Tax – $242.3 million tax increase – Increase the recently-adopted hospital health care tax by $242.3 million over the next two years.
• Surgical Center Tax – $44 million – Impose an assessment on the gross patient revenues of ambulatory surgical centers located in Wisconsin.
• Sales Tax on Transactions between Related Businesses – $40.8 million tax increase – Current law applies the state sales tax to SOME transactions between different companies with the same owner. The Governor’s proposal would specify that ALL transactions between these affiliated businesses would be treated as part of a combined group and subject to sales tax.
• End the Domestic Production Activities Deduction (DPAD) – $54.3 million tax increase – Eliminate the ability of businesses to claim the federal tax deduction for domestic production activities income, which currently allows manufacturers of goods to deduct a portion of their production costs from corporate income taxes.
• “Throwback Sales” for Business Taxes – $80.5 million tax increase – Current law taxes the sales of products made by companies in Wisconsin and shipped to a buyer in another state at 50 percent of the normal tax rate because only half of the transaction is taking place in Wisconsin. The Governor’s budget would increase taxes on these “throwback” sales to 100 percent of the normal rate.
• Film Production Tax Credit Repeal – $9 million tax increase – Beginning in tax year 2009, eliminate the film production tax credits and replace it with a film project grants program to be administered by the Department of Commerce.
In addition, property taxes are estimated to increase by an average of $309 over the next two years as a result of the new budget.
Governor Doyle has said that “average Wisconsinites” will not see an increase in their tax burden as a result of this budget. We would like to know what Doyle's definition of "average Wisconsinites" is exactly. Maybe he means those Wisconsinites who have lost their jobs due to misguided Democrat economic policies and have no income that can be taxed.
These taxes will fall directly on Wisconsin’s middle class and small businesses. Further, these tax and fee increases will threaten our state’s ability to create, attract and retain good-paying, family-supporting jobs. |
