Proposal Would Freeze
Property Taxes For Two Years
MADISON- January 1, 2004 State Senator Bob Welch (R-Redgranite) and Representative Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee) announced a proposal to freeze property taxes for two years.
The Welch- Honadel proposal would freeze property taxes at 2003 levels for 2004 and 2005.
“People who have been busy the last month scraping together enough money to pay their property taxes realize the need still remains to pass a property tax freeze,” Welch said. “Taxpayers in this state continue to be hit hard with increases in their property tax bills; this proposal says enough is enough and stops those increases.”
Senator Welch first introduced a property tax freeze on April 16, 2003 that was included in the state budget but was eventually vetoed by Governor Jim Doyle. Representative Honadel has been the leading advocate for the property tax freeze since his election to the State Assembly in July 2003.
A recent study done by the Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance reported that only 18 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties held their tax levy increases to the level that was contained in the property tax freeze passed by the legislature.
“The bottom line is that statewide property taxes rose once again this year at twice the rate of inflation. That is unacceptable,” said Honadel. “The people in southeast Wisconsin sent me to Madison because they were ticked off by their ever-increasing property tax bills. It’s about time we all work together and bring true tax relief to Wisconsin.”
Representative Honadel and Senator Welch will be introducing a property tax freeze bill that will be taken up in the early months of the legislative session. The 2004 Legislative Session is set to begin on January 20, 2004.
Local units of government will have the ability to exceed any proposed property tax by a majority vote referendum, which reflects current law concerning school districts’ ability to exceed their spending caps.
Passing a two-year property tax freeze will give the legislature time to pass the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in two successive sessions of the legislature and be approved by a statewide referendum.
“Representative Frank Lasee (R-Bellevue) and I have been pushing for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights for a number of sessions, and the time is now to finally pass this piece of vital legislation,” Welch added. “A two-year property tax freeze followed by the passage of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights will provide Wisconsin taxpayers with the tools they need to get out of the current Tax Hell that Wisconsinites live in today.”
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will:
· Limit spending growth for the state and schools to growth in population plus growth in inflation.
· Limit counties and municipalities to inflation plus new construction.
· Let taxpayers vote in referendum to raise the rates of the income, sales, franchise, or property taxes.
· Let taxpayers vote on whether or not the government can borrow money other than to refund or refinance outstanding bonds.
· Require an emergency fund and a budget stabilization fund.
· Automatically send surpluses back to the taxpayers.
Senator Welch and Senator Tom Reynolds (R-West Allis) have introduced the Taxpayer Bill of Rights as senate companion bill to Representative Lasee’s bill in the Assembly. Representative Honadel is a co-author of both versions of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
“The tax freeze will bring relief to Wisconsin’s hard working families in 2004 and 2005. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will ensure that government spending is kept in check for years to come,” said Honadel. “This tax relief is long overdue. It will be a great day in Wisconsin when both these measures become law.”
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