from : WisPolitics.com
The Wisconsin Counties Association, Wisconsin Realtors Association and WEAC, three groups that rarely agree when it comes to politics and policy, have begun preliminary discussions to see if they can come up with a better system -- long-term -- to fund local services and schools.
All three sides stress the talks are preliminary and informal at this stage, but there's apparent agreement among the trio of influential groups that some kind of change to the state's taxing structure is needed. They have no timetable to produce a proposal, but they hope those discussions will lead to something they can present to lawmakers and the governor that could be seriously considered.
It's a tough task, given a political environment that has produced few signs of big, bipartisan change on the issue of property taxes.
“That gets at the heart of the conversations of this group of maybe unlikely partners: What can we do to create a political environment that any real changes would be considered?” said Dan Burkhalter, WEAC’s executive director.
The three groups aren’t often on the same sides. For example, WEAC and the Counties have opposed any proposal to put limits on government taxes and spending in the state constitution. And WEAC was one of Gov. Jim Doyle’s biggest supporters last fall. But the WRA stated its support for “reasonable constitutional spending and tax limits in Wisconsin,” though it objected to several sections of the Taxpayer Protection Amendment, and the organization backed Republican Mark Green in the guv's race.
They also have some competing interests in the debate over funding local services, including education. But they share a common frustration over how that debate has progressed so far in the Capitol.
WCA’s Mark O’Connell said Wisconsin faces a huge demographic shift in the next decade or two as Baby Boomers continue to retire. For years, wealth in Wisconsin has been measured by property: The more property you had, the wealthier you were and in a progressive tax system, the more you paid. But Boomers will soon lose the revenue stream they have used to cover that property tax bill, and the current structure won’t work as they lose some of their ability to pay for the property they have acquired.
To O’Connell, that signifies a need to shift to a system based more on consumption than property.
“We’re a commerce/technology-based economy more and more every day,” O’Connell said, stressing he was speaking for himself and not the group. “I want to keep every manufacturing job that we have, no doubt about it. But we have to realize we are no longer a manufacturing state.“
That being the case, we keep trying to apply this manufacturing-based tax system to our knowledge-based economy.”
The state also needs a higher per capita income, which would solve a lot of problems “even with the current flawed system,” O’Connell said. Accomplishing that requires a more education population with more bachelor and tech college degrees.
Burkhalter said both county governments and schools face constant revenue pressures and a simple conclusion would be the two units of government need to figure out a way to get more revenue. Still, Burkhalter said the three organizations haven’t gotten to a point of defining what that means or if that’s the ultimate solution the groups will propose.
“I’m not trying to say it’s not about more revenue. But we haven’t jumped to that conclusion,” Burkhalter said. “The first step is do we have a reason to come together in an ongoing way?”
WRA’s Mike Theo said his organization has long had a relationship with WEAC because they share some common goals on quality schools, a key quality that home buyers look for in a neighborhood. But Realtors also have concerns over property taxes because it becomes part of the affordability equation for homes. Realtors hope to find a solution that ends the state’s heavy reliance on property taxes while preserving Wisconsin’s quality of life.
“Our goal is to get into it and say, ‘Preserve what’s good, but you’ve got to lower property taxes.” It’s hurting affordable housing,” Theo said.
