Wisconsin consistently ranks in the top 10 states for the tax burden on individuals. Our property taxes are sky-high, especially if you live in the metro-Milwaukee area. Personal income taxes are very high. And we have lots of “fees” that are really just taxes in disguise.

Governor Jim Doyle is crying about a big “budget deficit” for a budget he hasn’t even created yet. i.e. He is telling us that he’s going to budget to spend billions more than he knows will be coming in from taxpayers.

I’m not sure why any person with any business sense would make a plan for a period that doesn’t start for another 7 months, and budget to spend more in that period that they know they’ll have to spend.

So naturally, our lawmakers are looking for more ways to levy more taxes on residents of the state. The latest idea is a huge increase in sales taxes. (In addition to the increase that Milwaukee County will likely have.)

The key to an increase like this is to make it seem like “someone else” will have to pay it. If you can get consumers to think THEY aren’t the ones who will be affected by a tax increase (think Obama’s “redistribution” from the wealthy who can “afford” to pay a disproportionately high share of the tax burden), then they’re more likely to get away with it.

The new tax idea is to start requiring sales tax to be paid on services, which previously have been exempted from sales taxes. From the beginning, Wisconsin sales taxes were meant to be collected on the sale of goods. Services were not part of the game plan. So a doctor providing medical care, a lawyer providing legal advice, and a hairdresser giving a haircut didn’t have to collect sales taxes.

Now, the lawmakers think all those services would be a great way to collect another several billion dollars a year. And how much do you want to bet that many consumers don’t even realize this will affect them? I bet a lot of them are thinking… “Hey, the lawyers shouldn’t get out of sales taxes…” Not realizing, of course, that it’s not the lawyers who will pay the sales taxes. It’s their clients. The lawyers are simply the ones who must collect the money.

I’m tired of tax-crazy politicians. And I hope consumers stand up to the idea of even more taxes forced upon them. We already pay too much to our bloated government on all levels. Let the politicians do what the rest of us do: Budget responsibly. Live within your means. And cut your spending if you don’t have the income to pay for it.