Dear Legislator:
Onbehalf of the National Taxpayers Union’s 7,800-plus members in Wisconsin, Iurge you to support a bill requiring a supermajority vote on tax increases inorder to reduce the state’s high tax burden and promote economic growth.
Wisconsin currently has the ninth-highest state and local tax burden asa percentage of state income in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation.This is a higher ranking than all of Wisconsin’s neighbors. Additionally,property taxes as a percentage of median home value are the fourth-highest,surpassing even those in Illinois and New York. Moreover, Wisconsin has the ninth-highestgasoline tax rate and sixth-highest cigarette tax rate in the nation. Butdespite these horrendously heavy tax burdens, elected officials too readilyturn to tax increases as a solution to fiscal woes. That is precisely whyWisconsin needs a supermajority safeguard.
A comprehensive supermajority protection against tax increases will helpreinforce fiscal discipline and spur economic growth. By restraining the steadyincrease in tax burdens, this reform will help focus budget policy on its mostimportant task: establishing affordable, sustainable, and efficient spendingprograms. Equally important, passing a supermajority vote requirement willsignal to individual and business taxpayers that Wisconsin’s government isserious about making the state a great place to live and do business. Statesthat have brought taxes under control have grown more in terms of jobs andpopulation than those that allow taxes to rise unimpeded. In its ongoinglandmark project, “Rich States, Poor States,” the American Legislative ExchangeCouncil (ALEC) ranks the economic outlook for states based on their fiscalpolicies. Four of the five top-ranked states in ALEC’s latest study hadlegislative “supermajority” and/or voter approval requirements for tax hikes.Although the ALEC analysis incorporates many factors, effective rules againstrunaway taxes clearly can matter.
NTU and its members strongly supportefforts to limit burdensome tax increases, and we are eager to help make suchefforts succeed. Therefore, we urge you to adopt a supermajority voterequirement and stand ready to assist you in this worthwhile endeavor.
Sincerely,
JohnStephenson
StateGovernment Affairs Manager