Spend Less, Tax Less
Forward
Janesville Urges State to
Spend Less, Tax Less
FJI Continues to Follow the 2007-2009 State
Budget
The Wisconsin State Legislature’s
Joint Finance Committee, a bicameral committee split evenly between Republicans
and Democrats, finished its work on the 2007-2009 state budget on Friday, June
8. The budget drafted by this
committee contains many controversial provisions, including Governor Doyle’s
proposals to impose new taxes on hospitals, oil companies, and nearly everyone
in-between.
FJI is especially concerned about
these tax and fee hikes, which could
make living and working in Wisconsin costlier.
Under the Governor’s budget proposal, it could get more expensive to
sell your home, get a driver’s
license, have your clothes dry-cleaned, go elk hunting, get married, get
divorced, be born, and even die, as the cost of a death certificate could more
than double. FJI will continue to
urge lawmakers balance the state’s budget by more aggressively controlling the
increase in state spending, not by resorting to tax and fee increases.
The Democratic-controlled Senate and
Republican-controlled Assembly will each get a crack at writing a budget, and a
conference committee will be charged with forging a compromise that both sides
can live with. Assembly Republicans
have pledged to pass a budget that does not contain any tax increases, and
finding middle ground between the chambers has proven difficult thus far. All sides acknowledge that the final negotiations are likely
to be very tough, and that the process could stretch well into the fall.