Supermajority Requirement to Raise Tax Rates and Expand Sales Tax Base - WIB Supports

Wisconsin’s balanced budget law requires the governor and the legislature to enact a biennial budget such that the projected revenues exceed the projected expenditures.

It is the first order of business for incoming Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-led Legislature. The options on the table to close the deficit and balance the state’s next budget are – reduce government spending, raise taxes or a combination of the two.

Closing a multibillion dollar budget shortfall during this prolonged downturn in the state’s economy will not be easy. WIB members support the commitment by Governor Walker and the Republican majority in the Legislature to balance the next budget without raising taxes. WIB members also believe it is time to enact structural reforms to control the growth of government spending in the long run.

WIB supports a two-thirds legislative supermajority requirement to raise the state’s income tax rates, sales tax rates or expand the state’s sales tax base.