Home

Taxes

The latest budget proposals in Madison seek to to raise taxes and fees by over $1.7 billion, the biggest tax increase in Wisconsin history .  Everything from taxes on hospitals, nursing home beds, college applications, dry cleaning, music downloads,cigarettes, hunting and fishing licenses are subject to new or increased taxes.

From cradle to grave, you name it, they’ll tax it.  Worse yet, we’ve witnessed year after year how elected officials in Madison promise to use new tax revenue for specific projects or to reduce the budget deficit.  Yet year after year, they raid segregated funds to increase spending on unrelated programs, at the same time borrowing money for capital projects and running up structural deficits in the billions.

  • Nursing Home Bed Tax --- The Governor’s budget will increase taxes on senior citizens in nursing homes by roughly $1,248 dollars per licensed bed.
  • Sick Tax --- The Governor’s budget will raise taxes on hospital care by $360.00 per inpatient admitted.
  • The Home Tax --- The Home Tax, also known as the real estate transfer tax, is assessed on the sale price of every house.   The Governor’s budget will raise the tax on the sale of a median priced home from $498.00 to $996.00, a 100% increase.  That’s a$140 million tax increase on Wisconsin families.
  • The Property Tax --- By allowing an additional 4% increase in property taxes, it is estimated that the Governor’s budget will raise the property tax for median priced home to $2,877.
  • Tobacco Tax ---The Governor’s budget raises the cigarette tax to $2.02 per pack, an increase of over 160%, and the budget will tax a cigar at 65 percent of its list price.  Consumers and small business people will lose $566.7 million.
  • The College Application Tax --- The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported that an incoming freshman will pay $50.00 for a college application, a 43% increase, and graduate, law and professional students will pay $60.00 per application, an increase of 33%.
  • Tuition Increases  --- Tuition for in-state students at UW-Milwaukee increased 6.8% from last year, but at the same time, tuition for non-residents decreased 15.2%.
  • The Car Rental Tax --- The Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority has proposed raising the tax on rental cars from Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties from $2.00 to $15.00, a 650% increase! Find out more…
  • The Vehicle Registration Fee Tax --- The budget raises the vehicle registration fee by 36% from $55 to $75 for every automobile, van and sport utility vehicle and raises the registration fee on light trucks from $26.50 to $75, an increase of 183%.
  • The Fishing Tax ---Thebudget creates and charges a permit fee of $50.75 for a person to harvest shovelnose sturgeon found in the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers.
  • The Hunting Tax --- Thebudget increases the tax on an elk hunting license by 51% from  $49 to $75 for a Wisconsin resident and from $251 to $400 for non-residents.  The budget also increases the application processing 350% from $3 to $10.
  • Disabled Tax --- The Governor increases the tax on all beds in intermediate care facilities for persons with disabilities from $445 per bed to an amount to be determined by the Department of Health and Family Services.  The tax increase will add $4.65 million to the cost of health care in Wisconsin.
  • The Gas Tax --- The budget creates a 2.5 percent tax on the gross receipts of motor vehicle fuel suppliers doing business in the state of Wisconsin costing $272,122,700 over the next two years.
  • The Vital Records Tax --- The vital records tax increase will raise the cost of marriage, birth and death certificates and will double the cost of a certificate of a birth resulting in a stillbirth.  The Democrats in the legislature hope to raise an additional $16.5 million with this tax increase.
  • The Dry Cleaning Tax --- The dry cleaning tax, imposed on gross receipts from all dry cleaning facilities, will increase by 55% from 2007-2009.
  • UW LaCrosse Diversity Tax --- “The Governor’s budget will raise in-state tuition at UW-La Crosse by $1,320 over the next three academic years.  That’s on top of the 50% tuition increase La Crosse students have seen since 2000.  According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, tuition for in-state students at UW-La Crosse will increase $440 each year for the next three years.
  • The Soda Tax  --- According to the bill’s authors, this legislation will impose a tax equivalent of $.02 on every can of soda sold in the state of Wisconsin.  The bill directs the tax money into a trust fund used to increase dental reimbursement rates.   The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the tax will cost $70 million per year.
  • The Phone Tax --- The budget will add $1.8 million to the existing $4.2 million already allocated to the Universal Service Fund’s library system aid.  The Universal Service Fund is generated from a tax on the annual gross revenues of telecommunications companies doing business in Wisconsin.
  • The IPOD Tax--- The Governor’s budget imposes an approximately $5 million tax on digital downloads over the next two years on music, speeches, recorded books, movies, news programs, live events, ringtones and other products downloaded over the Internet.
  • The Vehicle Environmental Impact Fee Tax --- Governor Doyle’s budget will eliminate the original sunset date of December 31, 2007 and will make the environmental impact fee permanent.  The tax will take $19,414,500 from the private economy every two years in perpetuity.
  • The Vehicle Title Tax --- Governor Doyle’s budget will increase the Vehicle Supplemental Title by 26% from $7.50 to $9.50.  The tax increase will take an additional $4,039,400 from the private economy.
  • The Boat Registration Tax --- Governor Doyle’s budget will increase the Boat Registration Fee anywhere from 29% to 33%, depending on the size of the boat.   
  • Tax on the Sales Tax --- The budget creates a five dollar tax on every paper-filed sales tax return. (100% increase)
  • Investment Tax --- The budget raises the fee paid by securities agents and investor advisors by 100%, from $30 per year to $60 per year.
  • The Lottery Tax ---The Governor’s budget allows the Department of Revenue to withhold an undetermined amount of money from a lottery winner’s award check to cover the Department’s administrative expenses.
  • The CCAP Tax --- The budget allows the Director of State Courts to establish and charge a fee for attorneys and individuals who use the CCAP system’s electronic filing capabilities.
  • The Personal Protection Tax ---Thebudget raises the Handgun Purchaser Record Check Fee from $8.00 to $30.00. (275% increase)
  • Disabled Tax, Again --- The budget grants a state agency the authority to increase taxes on people with developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, pregnant woman seeking counseling and others to whatever level the agency sees fit.
  • The Lemon Law Tax --- The budget puts a four-year statue of limitations for sales tax refunds for vehicles returned under Wisconsin’s Lemon Law.