WISTAX bogus study one more example of conservative agenda

The latest study by the supposedly non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is another example of the groups conservative bent and its willingness to manipulate data and flat out make stuff up to support its agenda of lower corporate taxes, regressive taxation on working families and less public investment.

In order to raise the alarm about high taxes that arent really there, WISTAX massages, manipulates and leaves out data to fit its conservative agenda. WISTAX claims Wisconsin raised taxes due to the Bush recession, but leaves out that only the top 2% saw any income tax increase. WISTAX also includes closing corporate tax loopholes as a tax increase ” ending corporate tax evasion isnt an increase. Sorry WMC and WISTAX, but everyone has to pay their fair share, even corporations that have used truck-sized loopholes to avoid paying Wisconsin taxes in the past.

And just like WMC, WISTAX and its president Todd Berry are constantly dooming-and-glooming about taxes in Wisconsin. Of course Berry said that he expects [the tax burden] to get worse in Wisconsin. What Todd Berry thinks or expects or speculates about doesnt matter because he isnt even a broken clock or blind squirrel ” hes never right. Earlier this summer after the state budget passed, Berry was at his Eeyore-melancholic-best, speculating that Wisconsins rank could move up three to five places, so something in the six-seven-eight range. Wrong ” our rank dropped from 11th to 12th. And early in 2009, Berry was out in the media pimping his prediction that the state budget deficit really wasnt that bad ” first he claimed it was only $.65 billion, then he moved his guess up to a modest $1 billion, at best a full $5.6 billion short of what the deficit actually was. Todd Berry and WISTAX isnt just wrong, they’re EPICALLY wrong about the most important budget issues facing our state. Either Berry and WISTAX are really bad at research and analysis, or they have an interest in pushing the same talking points as WMC.

This latest partisan hack-job study isnt the only evidence against WISTAXs non-partisan claim. The board of directors of WISTAX is loaded with right-wing ideologues and GOP operatives including past GOP elected officials and party activists and heavy-weight conservative donors like chair of the WISTAX board Carol Ward Knox. Her and her husband Randy Knox have given over $150,000 to political candidates and every dime has gone to Republicans or conservatives. Overall WISTAX board giving follows the same pattern. In total, the members of the WISTAX board have given over $385,000 to political candidates and nearly $358,000 of that has gone to Republican or non-partisan conservative candidates, or 92 percent.