May 25, 2005
Bad day for Wisconsin's students
Proving that the use of property tax revenue to fund schools is a horrible idea, voters throughout the state voted against school funding. In 28 out of the last 39 school referenda, the vote was "no" to education. Or was that the issue? More likely, the voters would have said, "The state of Wisconsin should pay more and depend less on the most regressive tax of all, the property tax."
Senator Judy Robson and Assemblywoman Jennifer Shilling have introduced a plan not unlike the one the Garvey for Governor Campaign put forward in 1998. At the heart of it, exempt up to $60,000 of a home's value from taxation. In 1971, taxes on homes accounted for only 50 percent of all property taxes, but today, thanks to exemptions handed out by the Lobbyist's Legislature, home owners pay 69 percent. Corporate income taxes have dropped from 14 percent of our revenue in 1971 to a mere 6 percent today.
So, friends, let's get the People's Legislature on the path of removing corporate tax loopholes that could add an additional $3 billion in state revenue. We would not have a crisis, or indeed a shortfall, if we all paid our fair share.
Radical idea, you say? Well, call me radical if you must, but our kids deserve the best education we can provide. They are cheated with every loophole created by the lobbyists. Time for fairness.
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