State Government
- Senate Budget. Senate Democrats were attacked for their votes on the state budget. WMC claimed that attempts to close the state’s historic budget deficit would hurt job creation. The final budget cut $3.2 billion in spending, while protecting critical priorities for the people of Wisconsin such as job creation, education, health care, children and seniors -- without raising income taxes for anyone earning less than $225,000 a year, nor raising general sales taxes.
- Capital Gains Taxes. Ran deceptive print advertisements about state budget plan to put Wisconsin’s capital gains taxes in line with the rest of the country. Currently, the top one percent of income earners get 64 percent of the benefit of the current capital gains loophole and 83 percent of the benefit goes to those in the top five percent of income earners – meaning people earning more than $152,000 a year.
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"Historically, the joint and several principle placed responsibility on the wrongdoers and it should not put the burden on the innocent person to go sue everybody." – Mark Thomsen, Wisconsin Association for Justice, 3/19/09
Joint and Several Liability. Ads ran opposing the proposal, which would increase the ability of consumers to hold bad corporate actors accountable. Among the ads was one featuring the owner of Tyrol Basin. Sens. Kreitlow, Sullivan, Carpenter and Vinehout received specific ads about the proposal. When the provision was taken out of the budget, several legislators, including Sens. Lassa and Erpenbach and Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, as well as Reps. Molepske and Hubler were “thanked” in radio ads. Several of these legislators, along with Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald were featured in “thank you” print promotions. - "Las Vegas Loophole." Democratic legislators were targeted for supporting the stimulus bill because of the end to the so-called “Las Vegas Loophole.” Before elimination, the Las Vegas Loophole, supported by WMC, allowed companies to avoid paying taxes on profits made in Wisconsin by opening up a post office box “phantom office” in a state without corporate income taxes, like Nevada. This scheme lost Wisconsin $90 million annually in evaded corporate taxes.
- Taxes on the Rich. During the budget process, ads against the Governor and the state legislature were run opposing, among other issues, the proposed tax increases to the top 1 percent of income earners. This would only affect couples earning more than $300,000 a year and represented the first income tax increase on the top one percent in 40 years. The top one percent of income earners nationwide received at least $477 billion under the tax cuts for the rich enacted by George W. Bush.
Federal Government
"Corporate front groups are waging a major campaign to stop the Employee Free Choice Act. They do not want workers to have the freedom to choose for themselves whether to bargain through unions for better wages, benefits and working conditions. …these are the same groups and donors that fight against good wages, workplace safety and the protection of workers’ rights."
– AFL-CIO
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Employee Free Choice Act. In the first half of 2009, ads opposing the Employee Free Choice Act were run offering provably-false claims about the proposed federal legislation. U.S. Reps. Ron Kind and Steve Kagen and Sen. Herb Kohl were noted in WMC television and radio ads. Print ads featuring Kind were also run.
WMC Watch Fact Check: Capital Gains Taxes
Maine and North Dakota Ad Shows WMC Solution is More Tax Cuts for Rich
Background: Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce launched a print ad campaign which implored state budget negotiators, “We should follow lead of Maine and North Dakota and cut taxes.” WMC Watch research shows both the Maine and North Dakota plans cited by WMC are nothing but tax cuts on the rich paid for by the middle class and the poor.
Maine: Hiking Sales Taxes to Finance Regressive Flat Tax. The ad cites a Wall Street Journal editorial (with the headline “Finally, a State that Cuts Tax Rates on the Rich”) crowing about the regressive flat tax plan enacted in Maine. WMC hides that in order to impose the flat tax, Maine replaced its more equitable graduated income tax with a regressive flat tax paid for by hiking sales taxes to make up the funding difference.
North Dakota: Over 70 Percent of Income Tax Cuts Go to Those Making Over $137,000. Unlike nearly every other state faced with the collapsed economy due the failed economic policies of George W. Bush supported by WMC, North Dakota enjoyed a modest budget surplus and put 10 percent of it towards an income tax cut. But rather than distribute that tax cut to the families that needed it most, 71 percent went to North Dakotans making over $137,000 leaving pennies for the middle class.
Analysis: WMC doesn't care about cutting the deficit anymore than they care about the middle class. WMC is a one-trick pony – cut taxes for its clients and make the middle class pick up the check.
