If Walker says he isn't going to do it, look for him to do it in the not too distant future (or at least try). He's not to be trusted.

carlit....take a breath! And the sales tax now is 5% not 13%. Do you ever read your posts before you post them?

JJ... We can't afford to NOT keep him in office! Another democrat like Doyle would take this state back down the tax and spend road.

"Walker is starting now to look like “the good guy” because election time is coming"
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Huh? Walker has said from the beginning that he was against tax increases....looks like he has been "the good guy" since the first day he took office:)

Walker is starting now to look like “the good guy” because election time is coming… He needs to DISTRACT us from looking at what he HAS done to Wisconsin’s working families by stripping the collective barganing rights of 175,000 workers (Just we we needed…the right to work for LESS! ) as well as Slashed $1.6 billion from public schools...…while handing out $35 million for private charter school vouchers in Milwaukee County! Giving away MILLIONS to Venture Capitalists! Writing bills that erode our voting rights….Can we AFFORD to keep him in office???

calitosway: Social Security was never meant to be a retirement program. If that's the case then people who never worked would not get benefits, but they do. When SS was first introduced life expectancy was 67, so the average person paid in for 45 years to collect for 2. If you want to go back to the same system, hold off benefits for those until they are 85! But people would complain because they would then say its unfair to work until then, because that is what they use for their entire retirement.

That's a big reason why it is becoming bankrupt faster than ever. Plus the fact that millionaires have to enroll and collect SS in order to get Medicare. Bad system and needs an overhaul.

billnewbie, I suppose some esoteric sales tax regime could be jury-rigged to reduce the burden on the poor somewhat, but any such consumption based tax is going to more heavily impact those with lesser incomes, while giving a free ride to those who use much less of their income as a percentage. It's a big gift-wrapped kiss to the high-income donors to Scott Walker. Fortunately not all of his party compatriots are as beholden to Diane Hendricks and her $500,000 political donation budget.
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And while Wisconsin doesn't have a notably progressive tax system, it is not among the states with the most regressive systems, according to the ITEP report Who Pays?, and ITEP's sister group Citizens for Tax Justice themselves note that shifting from income tax to sales tax would increase the regressivity of the tax regime here.
http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/arch...

Mr. McDonald, if the income tax were eliminated and the sales tax raised but food, housing, medicine and health care were still sales tax exempt (you know, those goods you mentioned that the poor need to survive), wouldn't the new situation have just about the same effect on the poor and families as the way things are now? Wisconsin's income tax is very regressive. Working poor folks who pay no Federal income tax usually pay at least some Wisconsin income tax. And the maximum Wisconsin tax bracket is reached at a very low threshold when compared with Federal rates.

All things considered, as long as the new sales tax rates still exempt the things that are now exempt, the poor, families and seniors will hardly notice any change at all, and some will benefit, especially seniors with taxable income. If structured correctly, this type of tax reform could benefit those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, so to speak. It's a knee jerk reaction to reject this idea without more information.

tmcdonald WELL SAID!!!! Eagle1 and zuessmom. so many cannot afford the sales tax of 13% then again some people still do not get that some people barely get by and that is DISAPPOINTIMG more so then Walker not doing it. It would hurt the poor residents more then the tourists.He must have had brain gas as he made a good call on this one. Tell the Government to put the money back into Social Security that they stole and give the hard workers that paid into to it the retirement they deserve rather then the skimpy check they get now. Disappointing is the ones that do not get that there are poor in this world.

axo....Actually Walker has been very consistent with doing exactly what those who put him in office want him to do. He's been great with sticking to his guns in that respect...

do you think walker really cares what people think. he has proven over and over he is above the law and will do what he wants.

I don't think it would hurt to raise the sales tax. Wisconsin has people coming into our state for R&R spending their money here on a regular basis. Let them help pay!

It's the repressive property tax that should be eliminated.

- Retired seniors who paid income taxes during their working lives and now pay little or no income tax would be harmed if sales tax was increased on the goods they use in order to offset a decreased or eliminated income tax.

- The working poor who pay very little (if any) income tax would be harmed if they had to pay an increased amount of tax on consumption goods they need to survive.

- Families who currently receive deductions under the income tax rules would be harmed if they had to pay an increased amount on consumption goods.

-The income tax and sales tax should continue to be used in conjunction with each other as a balanced approach to revenue for state government. Neither should be eliminated.

This is disappointing, if Walker was as for the people as he claims to be he would be all for a consumption tax (Sales) that allows individuals to make their own choices on taxation rather than income tax which is just taken off the top. Best guess why nearly all politicians are against this is because it doesn't allow them to play loose with the revenue numbers.