NEW: Congressman Tom Tiffany “Hopes” to Push Tax Scheme That Would Create “Highest Sales Tax in U.S.”

NEW: Congressman Tom Tiffany "Hopes" to Push Tax Scheme That Would Create "Highest Sales Tax in U.S."

New reporting from WKOW and The Milwaukee Courier reveals that behind closed doors, Congressman Tom Tiffany is pushing an extreme tax plan that "would likely result in the highest sales tax in the country, according to a conservative think tank."

WKOW reports that in order to pay for Tiffany's tax giveaway that would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, "the state would likely have to turn to another option to make up lost revenue: raising the sales tax," as high as 12.69 percent. A conservative think tank warned that Tiffany's plan would push the sales tax "higher than anyplace else in America and [force Wisconsin to] simultaneously enact unprecedented, dramatic spending cuts."

"At a time when costs are at an all-time high, Congressman Tom Tiffany wants to give breaks to billionaires and drive prices even higher for working Wisconsinites," said DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy. "Congressman Tom Tiffany has done enough to drive up costs for Wisconsinites, and they know they can't afford his extreme agenda."

Read more about Tiffany's costly and extreme tax scheme:

WKOW: Exclusive audio: Tiffany tells voter he 'hopes' to eliminate income tax

• …audio obtained by 27 News reveals, when a man at a campaign event in late September asked Tiffany if he would eliminate income tax, Tiffany replied, "I will not be able to do it in the first budget, but, after that, we sure hope to be able to get it done."
• If Wisconsin were to eliminate its income tax, it would be joining a group of eight other states: Alaska, Texas, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Tennessee, Florida and New Hampshire. However, many of those states are better positioned to operate without income tax revenue. Alaska and Texas are able to rely on revenue from oil and natural gas, while Florida and Nevada each make a lot of money from tourism.

• Those avenues would not be as lucrative for Wisconsin, so the state would likely have to turn to another option to make up lost revenue: raising the sales tax.

• Right now, Wisconsin's statewide sales and use tax is 5%. Some counties have additional local sales taxes not exceeding 0.9%, and the city of Milwaukee assesses a 2% sales tax. An analysis from the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy finds the Badger State would need to raise its sales tax to 12.69% in order to be revenue neutral without collecting any income tax.

The Milwaukee Courier: Tom Tiffany wants to eliminate personal income tax. Conservatives say it would result in highest sales tax in U.S.

• Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany says he wants to eliminate the personal income tax, but that would likely result in the highest sales tax in the country, according to a conservative think tank.

• Think of the state government's budget revenue streams like a bar stool with three legs. Holding it up are income taxes, property taxes and sales taxes. If you eliminate one of these, the stool is almost certainly going to collapse. But if you want to restabilize it you must strengthen another leg.

• This means cutting spending for public services dramatically and/or increasing the sales tax, because unlike some other states that don't have an income tax, Wisconsin doesn't benefit from having unique sources of revenue.

• The Badger Institute, a conservative think tank in Milwaukee, wrote in September 2024 that "Wisconsin, in order to eliminate the income tax, would likely have to raise its sales taxes higher than anyplace else in America and simultaneously enact unprecedented, dramatic spending cuts."
• The current sales tax in Wisconsin is 5% with local municipalities adding more. Eliminating the income tax alone could force a sales tax increase of 6.7% and blow a roughly $9 billion dollar in the budget. A nearly 12% or more sales tax would far exceed any state in the U.S.

• Tiffany's campaign didn't respond to a request for comment.

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