By Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison)
As Republican leaders scramble to reach backroom budget deals in an effort to strong arm their own members to support a severely flawed state budget, some of their remaining budget schemes have come to light. Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-14) recently indicated he planned to eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which ensures that the wealthy and out-of-state individuals with large state tax savings pay their fair share of state income tax.
But
it didn’t take long for Republicans to get push back on their
outrageous tax giveaway scheme. Why more tax breaks for the rich were
even on the table when Republicans are
decimating our public school system show Republican legislative
priorities.
Now
after bad headlines, Republicans are reconsidering their original idea
to eliminate the tax on the rich. But any modification to the AMT will
still cost Wisconsinites millions
of dollars in revenue not invested in our public schools.
At
a time when Republicans are cutting the UW System by $250 million and
failing to invest in our public school children, now is not the time for
another tax break for the
wealthy. Nearly 75% of people who pay the AMT are the top income
earners of the state, with income over $200,000 annually. Republicans
already gave this group a large tax cut in 2013 when they collapsed tax
brackets so that a family making $30,000 annually
now pays the same tax rate as a family making $325,000. Between 2013
and 2015, their tax scheme basically created a flat income tax system
which has reduced our state revenues by $647 million during the
biennium.
These
decisions have far reaching consequences and do not simply affect the
state’s fiscal health in this coming biennium. Any loss in revenue will
have to be made up year
to year. Given the Republicans’ track record, this loss usually comes
on the backs of our public school children.
According
to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Republicans have spent
$1.9 billion in various tax giveaways between 2011 and 2014 as they
decimated public education.
Included in this amount is a $60 million tax cut for wealthy parents
who send their children to private schools and an increasingly costly
tax credit for big corporations that will soon cost the state $570
million over the biennium.
Meanwhile,
parents all over the state of Wisconsin are apoplectic over the
Republicans’ refusal to adequately invest in our children and our public
schools. Instead, Republicans
want to take millions of dollars from our public schools for
unaccountable private schools while giving even more tax breaks to the
super-rich.
It
didn’t have to be this way. Don’t believe the Republican lie that the
state is broke. They left $360 million in savings on the table by
refusing to take federal Medicaid
expansion monies that would have provided health care to more people
for less than Wisconsin taxpayers are currently paying. The state has
revenue—Republicans just don’t want to fund the people’s priorities.
Instead,
Republicans want to continue their massive tax giveaways that primarily
benefit the wealthy on the backs of the hard working families and
children of our state, ignoring
the priorities of the people. Everyone in our state should have to pay
their fair share, including Republican cronies and big donors, so that
the state can invest in our people and the institutions that have
traditionally made our state strong.
So a Wi resident that pays about $8500 in school taxes in Hartland and also pays $14,000 for his son or daughter to go to St John's military academy and the state of Wis gives him a whole $750 dollars in tax brakes is a bad deal for the state? Sheesh, it's alway about the teachers union with you dems isn't it.
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