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Candidates
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Brown says Wisconsin should be out of the top 10 by 2010
By Brady Bautch, RiverTown Newspaper Group
In the midst of a re-election campaign for the 31st State Senate seat, Sen. Ron Brown, R-Eau Claire, has announced a plan to take Wisconsin out of the to 10 most-taxed states.
He calls it the "10 x 10 Tax Relief Plan" and it sets 2010 as the goal date to move out of the top ten. Wisconsin is currently seventh highest when balanced against per capita income, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.
The plan keeps in place the current property tax freeze which limits property taxes to the rate of growth plus inflation for municipalities and counties, but also exempts school districts.
"The current property tax freeze has resulted in the lowest property tax increases in approximately 10 years," Brown said.
He added that at this point he doesn't want to put school districts under a freeze because he believes the current system of a 2.8 percent increase per year in school levy limits is working.
"I wouldn't want to put any more restraints on schools until we take a closer look at the formula for school district funding," Brown said.
He noted that a special legislative committee is studying the formula this summer.
Brown's plan also exempts pension income from being taxed; a move Brown says would create a retirement-friendly state.
"It makes sense to me in talking to seniors," Brown said. "Many of our seniors are looking beyond our borders for tax relief."
He added that by keeping seniors in the state they continue to contribute to the state's economy through sales taxes on their purchases here and through their investments in the state.
He also wants to limit state spending to the same levels as personal income and population growth.
Brown is also taking aim at the state's inheritance tax; a tax he says discourages savings and puts family-run small businesses out of business.
"The idea that this is for the rich is wrong," Brown said. "If you're lucky enough to inherit a farm, but then can't pay the inheritance tax on the farm, there goes another farm lost in Wisconsin."
He added that it doesn't make sense to tax land that's already had property tax paid on it.
Running for his second term, Brown says the total cost of both the exemption of pensions from taxes and the abolishment of the death tax would be approximately $300 million.
However, with the state entering the next biennial budget more than $1 billion in the red his plan may be in for a bumpy road in the Legislature.
"Whether we can afford it or not will be borne out in the budget process," he said.
In April. Brown and fellow area Republican, Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, River Falls, went against the Republican Party and made a similar proposal as an alternative to the Republican-backed proposal which would have limited property taxes by changing the constitution.
"Just because you're in the same political party doesn't mean you have to agree all of the time," Brown said.
He noted that by making the current property tax freeze permanent legislatively it can be changed later on.
"I would certainly like to see if it works first before we make it permanent," Brown said.
The 31st State Senate District includes half of Pierce County and all of Pepin County and stretches south to the La Crosse County line and east to the Wood and Juneau County lines.
Brady Bautch is the Internet Publisher for the RiverTown Newspaper Group. He can be contacted at internet@rivertowns.net
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