10 Days Of Early Voting, 10 Reasons To Vote Against Scott Walker: Taxes

There are two days left to vote early in Wisconsin and Democratic voters are rushing to the polls in these final moments to cast an early ballot. 

Mary Burke is set to offer the people of Wisconsin a fair shot at success, but Scott Walker’s record only indicates another term will only produce more policies aimed at those at the very top. 

Scott Walker passed huge tax cuts for those at the top and put Wisconsin in a deep hole heading into the next budget. Adding insult to injury, Walker raised taxes on hard-working Wisconsin families after campaigning on a promise to not raise taxes in 2010. 

• Walker’s fiscally irresponsible policies include a lopsided income tax cut which puts individuals making $21,760 a year in the same tax bracket as someone making $239,600. [1]
• In addition, Walker issued tax increases aimed at putting the squeeze on nearly 140,000 working class families to the tune of $69.8 million in tax increases, while dishing out $610 million in tax breaks to businesses over his term.
• Wisconsin has a projected deficit of $396 million in the current budget. [2]
• And a staggering $1.76 billion projected structural deficit heading into the next budget. [3]
• The massive deficit will only continue to grow as 2015-2017 agency budget requests are considered.
• The agency requests that have been submitted thus far include $1.1 billion in new spending – without including complete requests from the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Transportation—potentially two of the largest requests.
• According to Secretary Gottlieb, the Department of Transportation is anticipating a deficit of approximately $680 million. [4]

BACKGROUND:
[1] (2013 Wisconsin Act 20, Wisconsin State Legislature 7/1/13)

[2] “Meanwhile, the state’s projected gap in its current budget ending June has risen to $396 million — or about 1.2% of the spending planned for the 2013-’15 budget.” (Wisconsin state budget shortfall projected at nearly $1.8 billion, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/8/14)

[3] “The expected shortfall for the next two-year state budget starting in July has risen to nearly $1.8 billion, or about half of what it was when Gov. Scott Walker took office in January 2011.“ (Wisconsin state budget shortfall projected at nearly $1.8 billion, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/8/14)

[4] “The department is projecting a $680 million shortfall in its 2015-17 budget.  A bipartisan state transportation commission reported last year that if Wisconsin wants to maintain current service, traffic flow and road condition levels under the existing funding system, the state will be short $15.3 billion over the next decade.“ (Long-term transportation funding solution coming in 2015-17 budget, Wisconsin State Journal, 6/2/14)