Sales Tax Cut, Expanded Base Recommended for Wisconsin

A proposal to raise sales taxes and lower income and property taxes in the state of Wisconsin doesn’t necessarily come with a recommendation to increase the state’s sales tax rate.  The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute today has recommended rebalancing the state’s tax collections as a way to maintain current government revenue but increase investment and personal disposable income.  The group’s top recommendation is to cut both property and income taxes by a total of about $2 billion and make up the difference by lowering the state’s sales tax rate but increasing the types of things that can be taxed, including food, bottled water, and caskets among others.  The group says the changes would result in huge job gains as well as much more economic activity in the state.