New Report: Wisconsin Taxes Hit Poor and Middle Class Harder than the Wealthy

Low- and middle-income families in Wisconsin pay a higher share of their income in state and local taxes than do the richest families in Wisconsin, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP).

According to the ITEP study, "Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States":

• Wisconsin families earning less than $20,000 – the poorest fifth of Wisconsin non-elderly taxpayers — pay 9.2 percent of their income in Wisconsin state and local taxes.

• Middle-income Wisconsin taxpayers – those earning between $35,000 and $57,000 – pay 11.2 percent of their income in Wisconsin state and local taxes.

• But the richest Wisconsin taxpayers – with average incomes of $1,116,000 – pay only 8.0% of their income in Wisconsin state and local taxes.

The main reason for the unfairness of Wisconsin taxes is the state’s reliance on regressive sales and excise taxes, which fall disproportionately on the worst-off families, and on property taxes. The state’s one progressive tax, the income tax, is not enough to offset the unfair impact of these other taxes.

The ITEP analysis, which takes into account the most recent tax changes in each state, found that the poorest fifth of Wisconsin taxpayers pay 6.3 percent of their income for sales and excise taxes. That is seven times more than the richest one percent of taxpayers, who pay just 0.9 percent of their income for sales and excise taxes. Property taxes in Wisconsin are somewhat less regressive than sales taxes, with low and middle income taxpayers paying between 3.0 and 3.6 percent of their income for property taxes, compared to 1.7 percent for the richest one percent of state residents.

ITEP publishes a version of "Who Pays?" about every five years or so. In addition to the full report, ITEP has also prepared individual state-specific fact sheets that accompany the report.

Race and the Life Without Parole for Youthful Offenders Debate

Somewhat overlooked in the Life Without Parole (LWOP) debate has been the impact of LWOP on youth of color - and all-too-often tendency of our systems to take a "well, that's just the way it is" approach to this and other DMC-related efforts. A good article by James Bell, of the Haywood Burns Institute, perhaps the leading organization working on DMC issues, has written a thought-provoking piece in the Huffington Post titled Juvenile Justice and Race: An Uphill Climb to the Bottom, spurred on by the recent Supreme Court arguments about LWOP. A simple question to ask ourselves is whether we can continue to accept that a substantial portion of our youth end up in the juvenile justice and adult criminal justice systems. The answer has to be no. As we talk more and more about things like LWOP and evidence-based practices, let's not forget DMC.

More on the Life Without Parole Cases - A Victim's View

As noted in a prior entry, the issue of whether youth who commit an offense while under the age of 18 should be subject to life without parole (LWOP) is a complex one, bringing to bear all we know about child and adolescent development, what works with youthful offenders, and what happens to youth sentenced to die in prison. And while the cases before the Supreme Court are not cases in which there was a homicide - discussion of the issue of what degree a youth should be held responsible for any harm has to include a perspective from victims as well. That view is represented in a recent CNN posting titled Two cases may change the way teens are punished. The real tragedy is that these cases present a "no-win scenario" to the system and the courts.

The Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Juvenile Life Without Parole

On Monday, Nov. 9, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the two Florida cases in which youth under the age of 18 were convicted in adult court and subsequently received a sentence of life without parole (LWOP). Both cases have drawn considerable attention which has resulted in the filings of briefs by many outside parties related to this issue. Whether the Court will ultimately apply similar standards that were used in the Roper case (which banned use of the death penalty for youth under age 18), essentially that juveniles are developmentall clearly not adults and therefore should not be subject to the same sentencing conditions, remains to be seen. These cases are particularly aggregious in states in which youth are subject to prosecutorial discretion on waiver, three strikes you're out, or other processes which severely restrict the kind of consideration we would all want for our own children.

Justice in Pennsylvania? Better Late than Never

The Pennsylavania Supreme Court has thrown out over 6,500 juvenile cases that either were or may have been impacted by the "kickback" scheme in Lucerene County in which two local judges accepted money from a provider of a residential center - the more judges sentenced kids to the center, the more they got back! Adjudications in cases in which youth appeared before the two judges between 2003 and 2008 were overturned.

Fall Legislative Session Wrap-Up

The Fall Legislative Session ended in the early morning hours of November 6, 2009. Here is a wrap up of the action by the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly.

Bills ready for the Governor to sign

Supreme Court Elections – Senate Bill 40, authored by Senator Pat Kreitlow (D-Eau Claire) and Representative Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) was passed by both houses of the legislature and now waits for Governor Doyle’s signature. The Governor has previously said he would sign this legislation. SB 40 will provide public funding for Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. The bill would give candidates taxpayer money to run their campaigns. Candidates would qualify for additional money if they are running against a well financed candidate who does not take public money. Candidates that take public financing would not be eligible for grants to counter independent expenditures from outside groups attacking their candidacy. WCCF supports SB 40.

NRB appoints DNR Secretary – Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) and Senator Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) are the authors of legislation to return the authority of hiring the Department of Natural Resources Secretary to the Natural Resources Board. This legislation was passed by both houses of the legislature and was sent to the Governor for his approval. Governor Doyle has not announced if will sign the bill.

Child Care Fraud legislation – Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) and Representative Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) authored Senate Bill 331. SB 331 will require criminal background checks on child care providers every three months; permanently ban providers of Wisconsin Shares who are convicted of certain offenses; require providers to be suspended if charged with a serious crime and have their license revoked if convicted of the serious crime; and give whistleblower protection to county and state employee who suspect fraud. WCCF supports all efforts by the legislature and the department to prevent fraud in Wisconsin Shares.

Bills passed by one house of the legislature only

Drunk Driving Regulation and Enforcement - Senate Bill 66, authored by Senator Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) and Representative Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee), was recommended for passage by the Senate Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing Committee. SB 66 passed the Senate 32-0. SB 66 would require more drivers to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles and make some fourth drunk driving offenses felonies.

In the Assembly, Rep. Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis) is the author of legislation that would make the 4th drunk driving offense a felony and would require repeat drunk drivers to have ignition lock devices installed in their cars. This legislation, Assembly Bill 283, was recommended for passage by the Assembly Public Safety Committee, chaired by Rep. Tony Staskunas. The State Assembly passed AB 283 in September with a 96-0 vote.

The Senate and Assembly will need to work out the minor differences between the two bills. The Fall Session has ended so the legislature would need to use an extraordinary session to send the compromised legislation to Governor Doyle for his signature. The Legislature and the Governor had indicated that they hoped to have new drunk driving regulation passed by the end of the year. Stay tuned for more action on drunk driving legislation.

Strengthen No-Call Penalties – Senator Jon Erpenbach is the author of a bill that would increase the penalty from $100 to $1000 for telemarketers that violate the Do Not Call list. The bill passed the state Senate and now will move through the Assembly.

Sex Education – Assembly Bill 458, authored by Representative Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) and Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), would require school districts with a sex education program to include teaching the proper use of birth control. WCCF supports AB 458.


Bills that received a public hearing

Increase the Beer Tax – Although this legislation has not passed the either house of the legislature, there was a public hearing on October 13 to increase the beer tax from $2 to $10 a barrel. This equals about 3 cents per bottle of beer. AB 287, authored by Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison) would raise about $9.4 million annually and this revenue would help pay for law enforcement and alcohol prevention and treatment services. WCCF supports this legislation.