Scott Walker: How the State Budget Will Affect You

This is from Scott Walker's The Walker Weekly:

How will the State Budget Affect You?

My good friend and former colleague, Representative Mike Huebsch provided this summary of budget items affecting Wisconsin families:

Do you own a house?
Your property taxes will go up $316 according to the LFB (Legislative Fiscal Bureau) estimate of the increase on an average home.


Do you use a telephone, cell phone, or fax machine?
Add 75-cents to your monthly bill for each one in order to fund 911 dispatch centers, plus more to fund an $11 million increase in the existing $30 million Universal Service Fund (which ensures all Wisconsinites have phone service). Then watch helplessly as Governor Doyle and the Democrats siphon $100 million to plug holes in unrelated state programs.


Do you have a child in daycare?
Forget about deducting child care tuition and fees from your state income tax. The deduction approved by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Doyle in 2007 has been scrapped. In addition, the per-child licensing fee your child care provider pays to the state is increasing 39%.


Do you pay a portion of your health insurance premium?
It’s no longer tax deductible in Wisconsin. This deduction was also established in 2007.


Do you pay for automobile insurance?
Your rates will go up about 33% due to higher mandatory coverage amounts.


Are you getting married or having a baby?
The marriage and birth certificate fees are doubling.


Is your teenager looking for his or her first summer job?
The work permit fee is doubling.


Do you turn on the lights, heat or air conditioning at home?
Your utility bill will go up so that you can chip in to fund a $9.1 million annual increase in the existing $105 million low income energy assistance fund. And, you can again watch helplessly as $18.2 billion is drained from the fund during the two year budget period in order to pay for Wisconsin Works (W-2) benefits.


Do you have a child attending a University of Wisconsin school?
Tuition for the 2009 school year will go up at least 5% while financial aid is held flat.


Do you have a family member in a nursing home?
The nursing home bed tax will double this year and then increase another 13% next year. And, once again, most of those dollars will be used to pay for other programs.


Do you invest in stocks or real estate?
You’ll share any earnings with the state treasury now that the capital gains exclusion is slashed.


Do you depend on municipal garbage collection?
The “tipping fee” charged to your local government by the state more than doubled.


Do you buy cigarettes?
You’ll pay 75-cents more per pack.


Do you download music, ring tones, videos or books from the Internet?
You’ll now pay a 5 state sales tax on these digital products.


Do you ever fill your tank with gas?
You’ll pay 4-cents more per gallon.

Walker concludes:

Wisconsin taxpayers need relief from higher taxes and fees, and a state government that prioritizes spending while tightening its belt during tough economic times.

I agree.

In other words, Wisconsin taxpayers need relief from Jim Doyle.