Rep. Robin Vos on the Good News for Property Taxes
Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday that property taxes went down for the first time in 12 years. Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says the good news also includes an uptick in new business start-ups, proving that budget reforms are working.
If you haven’t already heard the good news, let me be the first to share it with you. Statewide property taxes went down for the first time in 12 years.
You read it right. Property taxes went DOWN not up. This reverses the trend of tax increases every year for more than a decade. In fact, since 1998, property taxes have risen 43 percent. This year the tax bill for the median value home went down .4 percent. That amounts to at least $39 back in your pocket. To those naysayers who quip, “That isn’t much,” I say consider what was first believed to be the case for property taxpayers. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau initially estimated the average homeowner would have paid an additional $700 over the biennium. What a great reversal!
Taxpayers and many school districts around the state are experiencing the benefits of our budget reforms. First, we eliminated a $3.6 billion budget deficit in Wisconsin and balanced our state budget. We also gave schools and municipalities the tools to balance their own budgets while maintaining important services to their communities. It was those school districts that didn’t fully utilize our reforms that increased taxes on their homeowners or had to lay off workers. The Milwaukee, Kenosha and Janesville school districts accounted for 68 percent of teacher layoffs for the entire state, but contain only 12.8 percent of Wisconsin students.
Now we’re beginning to see the benefits across the state; school districts are saving money, taxpayers are getting money back and more people are going back into the workforce. I think it’s also important to point out that there is the large increase of new business start-ups. The Department of Financial Institutions reports that new business development increased 16.9 percent during the first two months of the year compared to the same time last year. We put in place legislation that has helped turn around the business climate in Wisconsin.
Recently, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank predicted Wisconsin will have the best economic turnaround in the nation. With the news of the property tax decline and the other positive job indicators, I think we all have a good reason to be optimistic for the financial future of Wisconsin and its taxpayers.
jt
10:42 pm on Monday, April 16, 2012
everyone who i know had their property taxes go up because of cuts in revenue sharing! even though their propeties are now worth less! nice try !
James R Hoffa
12:52 am on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
@jt 'john' -
Way to deny facts by trying to spin them - but then again, that's the Democratic way!
Obviously, RUSD is one of those districts that forced a contract before Act 10 became effective and has a Board that wouldn't utilize the tools contained within Act 10 even if they weren't under a pre-existing contract.
Revenue sharing was cut because revenue collections are down - in case you haven't heard, the country has been in a severe economic recession since 2008. When revenue collections are down because people are hurting financially, there isn't as much money to share with local levels of government, is there? Unless of course you raise taxes, which is how you would have preferred it went, right john?
Sorry, but the rest of us rejected the raise taxes solution. And the corp tax breaks, which account for a little under $100M of lost revenue collection in the state budget, were necessary because other states offer such incentives to attract private sector employers - we needed to stay competitive.
Paul Weyenberg
4:40 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
jt My taxes went up to so Hoffa (Tea-bagger) can go pound sand.
Jim McCalmont
1:07 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Nice try Robin. Property taxes may be down accross the board an average of $39.00, but what about all the permit and liscense fee increases, not to mention all the new ones that have gone into effect. There aught to be a renewable permit for politicians that allows them to legally allows them to not tell the whole truth and if the get caught in anything less than the truth, the would forfeit a years wages and loose his position for abuse of public trust.
If he doesn't have the permit, then he goes to jail for 2 years and cannot ever hold public office again. This would be an administrative rule. lol
Kelley Albrecht
4:26 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
"The Department of Financial Institutions reports that new business development increased 16.9 percent during the first two months of the year compared to the same time last year. We put in place legislation that has helped turn around the business climate in Wisconsin."
What a load of TEA party loving crap. Let's look at those number they are using to say how well they did this year, how about almost 10,000 small businesses that were forced to CLOSE their doors last year. Yeah I guess when you lose that many business's any increase would seem favorable to Wisconsin's business climate.
Handing over OUR tax dollars to out of state tax evaders and corporate cronies who got these crooks elected with NO accountability to actually create jobs for WISCONSINITES would allow them to claim "we're broke". How irresponsible of these reporters to repeat verbatim their unrealistic account of what we need. Dead last in the nation on job creation tells me your "job creator" con job on the voters from the right is failing Wisconsin miserably. I wish people would stop trusting what the sold out legislators and their cronies are telling them and look into things for themselves. An unbiased non partisan start would be to look at the legislative fiscal bureau's report on the legislation passed through our house like a thief in the night. Be a responsible voter that at least represents your own best interest.
GearHead
7:21 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Kelley,
Be a responsible opposing candidate and put out a disclaimer of your own bias before slamming Representative Vos. Your side losing election after election no doubt makes you edgy. Better get ready for an electoral spanking
lisa gerber
11:35 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Vos works for ALEC not citizens of Wisconsin!!! Wake up people!!
James R Hoffa
12:36 am on Sunday, June 17, 2012
ALEC??? Is that the new liberal Democrat name for 'taxpayers'?