Forward
Janesville has posted its testimony on Governor Doyle’s 2007-2009 budget
proposal on its website, www.ForwardJanesville.com.
Dan Cunningham, FJI’s Vice President of Government Relations and
Education, delivered FJI’s testimony during a public hearing hosted by Senate
Majority Leader Judy Robson, Representative Mike Sheridan, Representative Kim
Hixson and Representative Chuck Benedict on April 12.
FJI’s testimony focused on two main areas: taxes and transportation
funding.
Taxes and
Fees—Forward
Janesville supports tax policy that
reduces the overall business and personal tax burden. Unfortunately, the Governor’s budget proposal contains
$1.75 billion in tax and fee hikes. We
have heard a lot about some of these items, including the hospital “bed
tax,” the cigarette tax increase, and the tax on oil companies operating here
in Wisconsin.
Unfortunately,
it’s the tax increases we haven’t heard much about that could make living in
Wisconsin costlier. Under the
Governor’s budget proposal, it could get more expensive to sell your home,
register your car or boat, get a driver’s
license, have your clothes dry-cleaned, download something from the Internet, go
elk hunting, stay in a Milwaukee hotel, get married, get divorced, be born, and
even die, as the cost of a death certificate will more than double under the
governor’s proposed budget.
$1.75 billion in
new taxes and fees is a non-starter for most businesspeople.
Therefore, we are encouraging our legislators and the Governor to balance
the state’s budget by more aggressively controlling the increase in state
spending.
Transportation
Funding—A safe, efficient, and
well-maintained transportation system is vital to Wisconsin’s economic future,
and is a top priority of the state’s business community.
Wisconsin pays for transportation projects through a segregated fund,
which is subsidized by gas taxes and fees on cars and drivers.
Unfortunately, during the last two budget cycles, nearly $1.1 billion has
been transferred from the transportation fund to help balance the state budget.
These transfers have forced the state to borrow money for transportation
projects, leading to higher debt service expenses and a reduction in the
state’s purchasing power.
In this budget, the Governor has proposed moving $164 million in general purpose revenue obligations under the umbrella of the transportation fund. Essentially, this represents a back door transfer from the transportation fund. Meanwhile, a shrinking funding base, rising construction costs, and an aging infrastructure is putting our state’s transportation system in jeopardy. FJI urges lawmakers to stop the transportation funding shell game by not heaping more obligations onto the already strapped transportation fund.
To learn more about these or other issues facing our state, please visit the Government Relations section of www.ForwardJanesville.com or contact Dan Cunningham at 757-3160.