Wisconsinites expected to pay heavily to close budget hole

Talk about it

We don’t know how yet but we do know that Wisconsinites will pay dearly to balance the current state budget and the next one.

Lawmakers will close a $350 million shortfall in the current budget as soon as they get back to Madison in January.

Then in February, Gov. Jim Doyle will unveil a budget for the following two years that seeks to close a deficit now said to be $5.4 billion.

Doyle says he’ll do all he can to avoid a general sales or income tax increase.

Doyle has tried twice in the past to tax music downloads, which may be easier now that Democrats have total control of the Capitol. Or you might pay sales taxes on things not covered now, like veterinary services.

Fee increases totaled $763 million in the last budget and former legislator Mordecai Lee of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee expects that number to double next time.

He says there’s not been a public backlash to raising fees for things like marriage licenses, dry cleaning and cigarettes.

Still, everything has its lobbying group and some are already arguing that fee hikes would hurt people and cost jobs.

Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, says he’ll try first to close the tax loophole that lets Wisconsin companies report their income in out-of-state subsidiaries to avoid taxes here.

Still, Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, says she’ll try again to raise the beer tax. That’s been a sacred cow in the past.

It’s being talked about some more, in the wake of two major newspaper series on the high costs of Wisconsin’s drinking culture.

Tags: wisconsin news, budget, hole