Paint Tax

The end of the legislative session can be a good thing.

This colossally stupid idea is a victim of the waning legislative calendar.

Paint tax measure dies quick death
Madison - A last-minute push in the Legislature to impose a new 25-cent per gallon tax on paint wholesalers collapsed this afternoon, shortly after the effort was made public.

The tax would have raised $7 million a year to pay for lead-abatement programs in Milwaukee and other Wisconsin communities while preventing future lawsuits against paint companies.

Rep. Curt Gielow (R-Mequon) said that he could find no Democratic legislators to go along with the proposal written by him and Sen. Carol Roessler (R-Oshkosh).

Without Democratic co-sponsors, "I'm not going to pursue it," he said.

Democratic Rep. Jason Fields of Milwaukee, who had been working with Gielow to reach a compromise, said lawmakers were trying to balance the interests of the victims of lead paint poisoning, the City of Milwaukee and the business community.

Lawmakers aren't likely to build the necessary consensus.

Good.

This new tax, like all targeted taxes, would punish consumers. The the 'evil' paint manufacturers wouldn't be impacted at all.

Finally, how pathetic is it that the new tax couldn't gain momentum because no Democrats would join the two "Republican" authors.