WisPolitics Budget Blog

Republicans propose $170 million gas tax holiday

(story)

The legislators, led by state Rep. Robin Vos of Caledonia, proposed halving the gas tax of 29.9 cents a gallon from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 at all pumps in Wisconsin

The office of Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle shot back that the revenue has already been designated to fund schools, and cutting it could push up local property taxes statewide to make up for the shortfall.

The fund, comprised of gas taxes and various license fees, is meant to pay for transportation-related projects, Vos said. He did not propose any way to make up for lost school funding besides replacing the entire budget with the Republican version.

As those quirky Guinness beer ads say, Brilliant!

Vos has tapped into populist anxiety, while simultaneously, reminding voters that outrageous Wisconsin property taxes are not enough to fund public schools – the governor is now transferring gas tax dollars to K-12 education.

Where does it end?

The Wisconsin State Legislature is incrementally morphing into a statewide school board. And Governor Doyle has accelerated the transformation by scrounging for every dollar for schools, leaving little on the table for infrastructure investment, or better yet, tax relief.