Yesterday, the un-elected Southeastern Regional Transit Authority committed to raising your taxes while scheming in a room at the Milwaukee County Airport (a regional transportation entity that actually MAKES money for Milwaukee County)! Governor Doyle and the Legislature gave this unelected board the power to raise the tax on rental cars to $18 per car, and they are getting ready to tax to the max!
Buried on page 12 of a 19-page PowerPoint presentation attached to the meeting agenda is proposal that they will raise the tax. But, the tax hike wasn’t even listed on the front page of the meeting agenda. Smell a rat yet?
Are they raising the tax to buy rail cars, tracks, conductor’s whistles? Nope. History shows they will probably just hire more consultants, lobbyists, and PR hustlers to raise more taxes. It’s the grand Wisconsin tradition of using taxes to lobby for more taxes. Just about every taxpayer funded city, state, village, dog-catcher, and government-subsidized group in the state has a lobbyist pressuring government to spend more and tax more. Using your tax dollars to pressure legislators to raise even MORE taxes is big business.
What makes SERTA’s taxing and irresponsible spending so outrageous is that they aren’t even elected. So when they put a tax hike proposal in a PowerPoint presentation, it’s so the real taxers in mayor’s offices and on county boards don’t get blamed. Let’s go back and take a look. In 2005, a $2 per car rental tax was established southeastern Wisconsin. But what did a big slug of that go for? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported SERTA paid H. Carl Mueller and a small army of lobbyists nearly $500,000 to lobby the Legislature to raise the tax to $15 per car. “The RTA is spearheading plans for a $198 million commuter link that would make 14 round trips daily. The public agency is seeking legislative approval to boost the car rental tax from $2 to $15 per car,” the Journal Sentinel reported.
Now, spending on lobbyists and public relations is up to $1.4 million. No longer content with raising rental car taxes alone, they added a sales tax increase to their workload. After the Legislature gave them the power to raise rental car taxes to $18 but failed to pass the sales tax, SERTA began considering maxing out the tax. Bottom line: An unelected board has already spent $1.4 million of our money to lobby for even higher taxes and not even a conductor’s whistle has been bought for the train!
The Legislature's politically charged, election-year decision to adjourn without authorizing more SERTA tax schemes has led this unelected board to scheme even more. They admitted to themselves that it will be difficult to pass a standalone bill to increase their taxing authority so their new strategy will be to use your tax dollars to lobby elected officials to bury any new SERTA taxing power in the State Budget, a bill, as the SERTA Board put it, "that they HAVE to pass!" They also noted this could be accomplished by reconvening the legislature in a special session for a "budget repair" bill before the next election. Never underestimate the deviously clever mind of an unelected board!
And just who voted for this boondoggle that will require raising taxes if approved? The representatives of Racine and Kensoha counties, the representative of Governor Doyle, and the representatives of the three largest cities in the SERTA district - Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee (KRM). SERTA Board members openly discussed the issue of which gubernatorial candidate would most likely support the KRM line without mentioning any names. However, State Representative Peter Barca, who attended the meeting via speakerphone, was less circumspect, current City of Milwaukee Mayor and leading Democratic candidate for Governor "Tom Barrett" would be most sympathetic to supporting the KRM line was his blunt assessment.
Yes, Virginia, votes have consequences!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
SERTA Plan Calls for New Tax Monday; Doubling Tax March of 2012
On Monday, leaders of the un-elected Southeastern Regional Transit Authority want to pass a $9 tax on every car rental. The plan is to more than double the tax by 2012 (see Agenda Item 7c).
The tax will fund --- in part -- the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line. SERTA is proceeding with applying to the federal government for the project even though they said in December it wouldn’t be considered without passage of still more tax increases by the legislature. Those taxes failed, but SERTA may raise taxes anyway.
The jumbo rental car tax is part of the plan.
Buried on page 12 of a 19-page PowerPoint presentation for the unelected board, is the plan to approve the tax at the May meeting at Mitchell Airport.
The tax will double in March 2012 to $18 per car plus inflation. That’s right, in less than two years the tax will double.
SERTA is a board appointed by local politicians and the Governor to do their dirty work of raising taxes. The unelected board has the sole authority to levy the car rental tax up to $18, and sole authority under law to apply to the federal government to support the KRM line.
The new tax is hidden in the materials for Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Rail line application to the federal government.
The tax will replace the lapsed $2 per rental car tax. You remember the tax that was established, and then used by KRM proponents to hire lobbyists and consultants to raise the tax even more.
So far the tax that was supposed to fund a rail line has mostly been spent on lobbyists and public relations experts who have been paid over $1.4 million of tax dollars to try to pass more tax increases.
Wisconsin residents need to call Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett at 414-286-2200, and tell him to stop the tax increase. Also, call Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway at 414-278-4261 and tell him to oppose the tax hike. Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was denied an appointee to SERTA by the Democrat Legislature because he wouldn’t play their game.
Make no mistake, elected politicians like Barrett control their appointees on the board. Will Barrett prove to voters he’s really not “Tom the Taxer” by telling his appointee to vote “no” and publicly speaking out against unelected appointees raising taxes? And, if elected Governor will Barrett allow the unelected SERTA to continue to run wild over the taxpayers?
Waste Watcher Bottom line: Milwaukee leaders had opposed raising the rental car tax because it wanted a sales tax for buses and other government spending. They were holding KRM hostage to get support for their tax increase. Now that the sales tax failed, they are falling back on the rental car tax. And, thereby proving: If you give unelected bureaucrats the power to "tax to the max" - they will do just that - tax to the max!
The tax will fund --- in part -- the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line. SERTA is proceeding with applying to the federal government for the project even though they said in December it wouldn’t be considered without passage of still more tax increases by the legislature. Those taxes failed, but SERTA may raise taxes anyway.
The jumbo rental car tax is part of the plan.
Buried on page 12 of a 19-page PowerPoint presentation for the unelected board, is the plan to approve the tax at the May meeting at Mitchell Airport.
The tax will double in March 2012 to $18 per car plus inflation. That’s right, in less than two years the tax will double.
SERTA is a board appointed by local politicians and the Governor to do their dirty work of raising taxes. The unelected board has the sole authority to levy the car rental tax up to $18, and sole authority under law to apply to the federal government to support the KRM line.
The new tax is hidden in the materials for Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Rail line application to the federal government.
The tax will replace the lapsed $2 per rental car tax. You remember the tax that was established, and then used by KRM proponents to hire lobbyists and consultants to raise the tax even more.
So far the tax that was supposed to fund a rail line has mostly been spent on lobbyists and public relations experts who have been paid over $1.4 million of tax dollars to try to pass more tax increases.
Wisconsin residents need to call Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett at 414-286-2200, and tell him to stop the tax increase. Also, call Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway at 414-278-4261 and tell him to oppose the tax hike. Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was denied an appointee to SERTA by the Democrat Legislature because he wouldn’t play their game.
Make no mistake, elected politicians like Barrett control their appointees on the board. Will Barrett prove to voters he’s really not “Tom the Taxer” by telling his appointee to vote “no” and publicly speaking out against unelected appointees raising taxes? And, if elected Governor will Barrett allow the unelected SERTA to continue to run wild over the taxpayers?
Waste Watcher Bottom line: Milwaukee leaders had opposed raising the rental car tax because it wanted a sales tax for buses and other government spending. They were holding KRM hostage to get support for their tax increase. Now that the sales tax failed, they are falling back on the rental car tax. And, thereby proving: If you give unelected bureaucrats the power to "tax to the max" - they will do just that - tax to the max!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Welcome!
Wisconsin is a state with chronically high taxes that stifle our economic growth and freedom.
Our recent recession has hit our families hard, and the politicians have responded with the wrong answers.
Instead of cutting government spending in Madison, the politicians responded with $3 billion in higher taxes and fees in 2009. They didn’t cut bureaucrats, posh pensions, or Cadillac – no, Rolls Royce – health care benefits. Milwaukee city and schools continue to tax-and-spend beyond reason with government officials acting as the hand maidens of special interests.
At the Capitol, Governor Jim Doyle and the Democrat Legislature raised business taxes, and the business community recoiled and retrenched from hiring. Our unemployment rate topped 8 percent, and neared 9 percent. Some communities have double digit, depression-level unemployment.
It’s time for citizens to impose their will on government.
Wisconsin needs a new direction. We need a new covenant with the people dedicated to providing frugality and common sense and to provide tax relief, and personal economic freedom for our families, our businesses, our farmers, and our retirees.
At Citizens for Responsible Government, we have been on the frontlines of defending taxpayers for nearly a decade.
CRG led the fight against former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament over the scandalous county pension scam with million dollar payouts, and golden parachutes. We drove Ament from office, and set the stage for fiscal reform.
And, we’ve helped citizens take on Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett for their big-spending, wasteful ways.
We are establishing the Waste Watcher Blog as a public service to the citizens of our state.
At Waste Watchers Blog, we will expose the politicians who pamper pension-padders, the despots who defend day-care desperados, and other wilfull wasters who terrorize tired taxpayers. And, we’ll celebrate the heroes of tax relief and economic freedom.
Our mission will be to engage the public to take action to promote policies aimed at lowering our tax burden, and raising the standard of living of all Wisconsin families. We’ll bring you the stories you won’t find in the mainstream media.
The analysis they won’t provide, and the news they won’t cover. And, when the media gets it right, we’ll share it with you here to help spread the word.
We hope to provide our blog as an open forum for citizen bloggers to post their stories of waste, fraud and abuse. And, we hope to have some fun too, with interesting tales of taxpayer heroes and villains.
Wisconsin Waste Watcher blog is an open forum from Citizens for Responsible Government to expose waste, fraud, and abuse in Wisconsin government in the interest of lowering our tax burden. Wisconsin Waste Watchers blog welcomes citizen posts, tips, and comments. Our families will prosper when government is frugal!
Our recent recession has hit our families hard, and the politicians have responded with the wrong answers.
Instead of cutting government spending in Madison, the politicians responded with $3 billion in higher taxes and fees in 2009. They didn’t cut bureaucrats, posh pensions, or Cadillac – no, Rolls Royce – health care benefits. Milwaukee city and schools continue to tax-and-spend beyond reason with government officials acting as the hand maidens of special interests.
At the Capitol, Governor Jim Doyle and the Democrat Legislature raised business taxes, and the business community recoiled and retrenched from hiring. Our unemployment rate topped 8 percent, and neared 9 percent. Some communities have double digit, depression-level unemployment.
It’s time for citizens to impose their will on government.
Wisconsin needs a new direction. We need a new covenant with the people dedicated to providing frugality and common sense and to provide tax relief, and personal economic freedom for our families, our businesses, our farmers, and our retirees.
At Citizens for Responsible Government, we have been on the frontlines of defending taxpayers for nearly a decade.
CRG led the fight against former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament over the scandalous county pension scam with million dollar payouts, and golden parachutes. We drove Ament from office, and set the stage for fiscal reform.
And, we’ve helped citizens take on Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett for their big-spending, wasteful ways.
We are establishing the Waste Watcher Blog as a public service to the citizens of our state.
At Waste Watchers Blog, we will expose the politicians who pamper pension-padders, the despots who defend day-care desperados, and other wilfull wasters who terrorize tired taxpayers. And, we’ll celebrate the heroes of tax relief and economic freedom.
Our mission will be to engage the public to take action to promote policies aimed at lowering our tax burden, and raising the standard of living of all Wisconsin families. We’ll bring you the stories you won’t find in the mainstream media.
The analysis they won’t provide, and the news they won’t cover. And, when the media gets it right, we’ll share it with you here to help spread the word.
We hope to provide our blog as an open forum for citizen bloggers to post their stories of waste, fraud and abuse. And, we hope to have some fun too, with interesting tales of taxpayer heroes and villains.
Wisconsin Waste Watcher blog is an open forum from Citizens for Responsible Government to expose waste, fraud, and abuse in Wisconsin government in the interest of lowering our tax burden. Wisconsin Waste Watchers blog welcomes citizen posts, tips, and comments. Our families will prosper when government is frugal!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)