Mike Allen follows Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan around his district as he advocates for Social Security reform:

Ryan, who will help write the legislation as a member of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security and is a longtime proponent of changing the popular government retirement program, is pushing the White House idea to farmers and factory workers throughout his district in the southeastern corner of the dairy state, with 35 “listening sessions” in 12 days.

David Leonhardt:

The culprit is a once-obscure federal tax provision known as the alternative minimum tax, which was created in 1969 to ensure that a relatively small number of wealthy people did not use loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

But it is increasingly being applied to families with incomes of $75,000 to $250,000 a year who claim relatively high deductions – like the ones for property taxes, state and local income taxes – and the exemption for children. When it does apply, it cancels some of those deductions..

The impact is about to mushroom. Barring a change in the law, almost 19 million taxpayers will be subject next year to the alternative minimum tax, or A.M.T., up from roughly 3.4 million this year and 1.3 million in 2000, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group whose calculations on this issue are widely accepted.

The non-indexing of the Alternative Minimum Tax will cause more problems over the next few years for Wisconsin residents.

Patrick Marley, Steven Walters & Scott Williams on the two “freeze” (not really) proposals:

But the two proposals are difficult to compare because the approaches are so different, Berry said.

“From the perspective of local government, they would probably prefer Doyle; from the perspective of a fiscally strapped property owner, the Republican plan would probably be preferable,” Berry said.

There’s been no shortage of articles on Wisconsin’s tax climate recently.

Rob Zaleski wonders why we cannot control property taxes:

Though they don’t get much media attention, there are, in fact, some ideas out there worth pursuing, Reschovsky says.
Among the most promising, he says, is a recent proposal by his colleague Don Nichols, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, that would freeze the rate of property taxes on all farms and homes to the rate of income growth of the average Wisconsin resident. The result, Reschovsky says, is that low-income people wouldn’t be driven from their homes. (For more details, see info@lafollette.wisc.edu)
Beyond that, some states have tried assessment caps, with mixed results, Reschovsky says. The best example, of course, is California’s controversial Proposition 13, which was passed in 1978 and limits increases in assessed value to 2 percent a year. A house gets reassessed at full value only when it’s sold.

Wisconsin’s legislature continues to consider a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Colorado passed a taxpayer bill of rights in 1992. Steven Walters visits the front range to talk with locals about their version of TABOR. Why did TABOR happen in Colorado? The numbers tell the story:

• The problem: From 1983 to ’92, spending by Colorado state government rose by 97%, while inflation rose 29.7% and the state’s population increased by 10.4%. We have a similar problem, unfortunately, Wisconsin’s economy is not the powerhouse it once was.
• The solution: In 1992, Colorado voters – by a 54% to 46% margin – passed a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights that limited state spending and required excess tax funds to be refunded the next year, unless voters let governments keep the surplus.

Much more here:
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Several recent articles highlight the ongoing problem of state & local taxes growing faster than Wisconsin personal income:

• Wisconsin Taxpayer’s Alliance released a study that forecasts 2005 property taxes will go up more than 6 percent. They also forecast that the local school portion of property taxes will go up 7.3%. They also found that property taxes will account for 4.1% of Wisconsin taxpayer’s personal income. (via JR Ross)
• Unsurprisingly, The Taxpayer Bill of Rights continues to be discussed in Madison. This will continue to be a hot button issue as long as state and local spending continues to rise faster than personal incomes (there will be a reckoning unless the economy grows faster…., here’s an example: Judy Wagner, 65, a Milwaukee substitute teacher, said her property taxes were forcing her to postpone her retirement. Her property tax bill had risen from about $3,000 in 2000 to just under $4,700 now, she said.
  “My options are to work until I’m 75 or 80 or sell my home and move south like three of my friends have,” she said.) Via Patrick Marley & Steven Walters.

• This will help, to some degree, though we must create a more robust environment for tax paying entrepreneurs. True statewide, 2 way broadband (not the current slow DSL and cable modem services) and a much simplified tax/paperwork process would be a great start.