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4/9/2009
Rahmlow: Here come higher property taxes
Jim Doyle is about to increase property taxes dramatically. In doing so, the governor will be breaking a promise made during the State of the State and breaking the banks for the middle class families he vowed to protect.
“People in this state have reasonable expectations, and we can meet them. We can draw on our resources, and find the revenues we need to keep our priorities whole. And we can do it without raising taxes on middle class families,” Doyle told a receptive audience in February. What the governor meant is that he will not increase sales or income taxes to fund government programs in the next budget.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau announced this week that property taxes will go up over $1 billion based on the numbers the governor used in his most recent budget. As home values continue to drop, the amount of money taxpayers send local governments and schools will increase 3.2 percent in 2009 and 4.5 percent the following year. As homeowners sell for less, state government is itching for more.
With unemployment nearing double digits and foreclosures mounting, Doyle and legislative Democrats have decided that property taxpayers can absorb the losses. The irony is not lost on this writer that property taxes are about to balloon even as Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan is convening a commission to investigate the reasons behind foreclosures. The commission will present its “conclusions and suggestions” in August, according to the Speaker.
Common sense ought to be telling these liberals that regressive property taxes will end up topping the list. How many more homeowners need to be in foreclosure before Sheridan and his group are enlightened? The Speaker already knows that Wisconsin foreclosures have “tripled since 2005” and the state’s economy stands to lose “$5 billion should foreclosure trends continue”.
Homeowners have enough to worry about without state government adding to their stress. “While the [LFB] report estimates that the median-value home will lose approximately $6,800 in value over the next two years, the owners of that same home will be forced to pay $316 more in property taxes. It is irresponsible to raise taxes on families when our state is in one of the worst economic declines in decades,” Minority Leader State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) remarked.
If Democrats pass a budget that results in these property tax increases, they may quickly find themselves back in the minority after 2010. Every major public opinion poll for the last several years has told legislative leaders that property taxes concern homeowners and businesses alike. In 2006, it was reported that Wisconsin’s property taxes are 24 percent higher than the national average.
To keep families and seniors in their homes, property tax relief needs to be enacted now, not in August. Ideally, Wisconsin should have a ballot initiative process like Arizona, Florida, or California where concerned citizens could force the issue during an election. Arizonans are currently fighting to have Prop 13 placed on the election calendar to provide property tax relief. That’s not an option in Wisconsin.
Legislative Republicans, led by the Fitzgerald brothers, can follow the lead of Arizona though and introduce legislation limiting how quickly property taxes can rise on residential and commercial real estate. According to Prop13Arizona.com, the ballot initiative caps taxes “at 0.5% of valuation for all residential properties and 1% for all other real property”. It also “limits valuation increases to 2% per year”, and just the “purchase price will be used as the basis for taxation”.
Because it’s Republicans offering the proposal, it’s not very likely the proposal will be brought to a vote. That does not mean they should not try. Not only will homeowners know which representatives are on their side, it will put Democrats in the position of having to place a better offer on the table. State Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) recently told reporters that the governor’s budget is “holding the line on property taxes”.
That argument will be harder to make if the Fitzgerald brothers are successful in bringing the property tax debate to life.
Rahmlow is a former radio personality.
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