Browsing: Taxes

The “Federal Grant$tanding” project is a multi-year investigation of the growth in federal grants used by D.C. politicians to curry favor with voters

Dozens of families have at times languished on waiting lists for housing assistance, and in 2014 and 2015 federal audits show tribal housing officials loaned themselves housing money without proper oversight.

In recent years, more than a dozen Indian tribes from North Carolina to Wisconsin to California have come under fire for using federal housing funds to treat tribal officials to lavish vacations, gifts and cash advances for personal expenses, a WPRI review has found.

As sovereign nations, tribes are not subject to state open records and open meetings laws as are Wisconsin’s municipal governments, school boards and other boards.
By Dave Daley
September 15, 2016

For better or worse, the tax laws are designed not just to collect revenue. They also aim to encourage certain types of behavior, such as being charitable or investing in risky enterprises that, if successful, lead to job creation.

College tuition continues to rise at a rate that greatly exceeds inflation and student loans are becoming more and more onerous.

About one-third of all state spending today originates in Washington, D.C., dramatically increasing the influence of the federal government on state spending priorities.

New findings trumpeted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel fail to break down Wisconsin’s tax burden by income categories or on a regional basis.

In the past 30 years, metro Madison grew 45%; metro Milwaukee grew just 11%. What caused the difference in outcomes for two cities separated by only 75 miles? The answer lies in Wisconsin politics.

The funding disparity between UWM and UW-Madison reflects that the two institutions have sharply different histories and are in many ways two different animals.

Federal grants-in-aid, in truth, are anything but free. Many serve a valid purpose. But they also can drive up federal and state spending, taxes and debt.

Tax-exempt institutions pay utility fees for their use of electricity and water. Shouldn’t a tax for their ownership of property be viewed in the same light?

One of the benefits of having 50 states, our so-called laboratories of democracy, is that we can examine different states’ policies and learn from them.

The headline in late October was a shocker: “Wisconsin business taxes rank 43rd”  — seventh worst in the country.

It’s amazing, the things we get worked up about — and the things we don’t.

Economists from Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy have determined through economic modeling that Wisconsin would benefit long-term from further tax cuts. Yet, they’ve found, Wisconsin doesn’t just suffer from high taxes. It suffers from the wrong tax mix.

Allow local districts to count students from their districts attending independent charter schools and then transfer the state and local revenue generated by each pupil to the charter school.

The new program will create an additional expense to the state. However, it is possible that the loss in GPR may be offset by the positive fiscal impact of reducing declining enrollment trends in private schools.

After a first read of Gov. Scott Walker’s recent vetoes, I am reminded of the scene in “Gladiator” in which Joaquin Phoenix takes stock of the Coliseum’s crowd and, eventually, gives into public sentiment and lets Russell Crowe live.

What was the most surprising part of the education package passed by the Joint Committee on Finance?