Wisconsin Corporate Profits Subsidized By Taxpayers

Tweet

One of the few times the Gazette didn’t attempt to hide their loyalities was displayed in Thursday’s editorial titled,” Tax on Big Oil fuels problems on many levels.” Here, their readers were educated with the views of a Big Oil lobbyist as a legitimate response to the tax plan idea Doyle proposed on record oil profits. It really is a profits versus people debate, and offering their editorial column as a forum for special interests should only further diminish the Gazette’s credibility and power of their editorials.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
After all, barrels of cash seemingly flow from the wallets into the pockets of the five major petroleum refiners…..

This doesn’t seemingly happen…..it does happen.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Prices at the gas pump seemingly go up and down arbitrarily regardless of oil prices.

Again, they don’t seemingly go up arbitrarily…….they do go up……arbitrarily.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
So it seems fair to tap into that cash to prop up our state’s transportation fund.

Actually I always thought it was Big Oil’s responsibility to help pay for roads, I had no idea they were not propping up the transportation fund.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Dan Gunderson, a lobbyist for big petroleum companies, met Tuesday with the Gazette Editorial Board and confirmed many of our suspicions and concerns.

If there’s one person the average consumer wants to hear from to help make up their minds about taxing record runaway corporate oil profits its a…..corporate lobbyist!! The Gazette would have faired better here if they asked a used car salemen.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
By the way, contrary to public opinion, the five largest oil companies don’t own any of Wisconsin’s 3,300 retail gas outlets.

Then why does Gunderson find it important enough to even bother coming here? The fact is, Doyle’s tax on Big Oil profits has nothing to do with ma and pa, franchise owners or point of use taxes at all. That's the best part, local businesses will not be taxed.

State of the State Speech:
Tonight, I propose an oil company assessment of two and a half percent per barrel to support our transportation needs.

The Gazette then proceeds to scare investors, claim one tax will lead to another and then finally offers that Doyle’s plan may in fact be unconstitutional. Do you picture the oil lobbyist nodding in agreement? Just the idea that the Gazette bothered to use these old and worn-out fear tactics and then expect their readers to be led around by the nose by a Big Oil lobbyist should convince everyone that…Doyle’s idea just might float.

In a related AP story on page 3 in the local section titled ”Businesses lag in taxes paid,” it turns out that Wisconsin businesses pay only 35% of state taxes while the national average is 40%.

JG Excerpt:
But Jeff Schoepke, director of tax and corporate policy for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business group, said taxes on its members are high enough and any increase would be passed on to shareholders and consumers.

We must assume then that shareholders and consumers in peer states have been paying the extra 5% all along. Depending on who you believe, individual state income tax filers have been subsidizing corporate profits in Wisconsin to the tune of $520 million annually or as high as $800 million annually.

The writer of this article chose to describe the WMC as simply the “state’s largest business group” while the study group, the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future was described as a “Democratic-leaning group.” But it didn’t end there. An entire paragraph at the end of the article was dedicated to informing the reader that the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future was founded by several union organizations and listed them all by name.