Issue Corner: Fair Tax System---Key Questions for Governors Race in Wisconsin

(Ed.note: this is one of the questions for the candidates for Governor at the Stoughton, Wis meeting last Sunday. This question is on taxes from the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, a Wisconsin think tank in Milwaukee. Governor Walker balanced the budget by cuts alone. He reduced tax assistance to low-income parents and seniors while opening new tax breaks for businesses and investors. He cut staff at the Department of Revenue, though it's clear that small investments in catching tax delinquents bring large returns in revenue. He gave new tax credits to big firms, though such profitable companies as General Electric, S.C. Johnson and Associated Bank go year after year without paying Wisconsin income tax. Three questions: 1) Do you believe in a balanced approach to budgeting? An approach which doesn't just reduce funding but also finds additional sources of revenue? 2) Will you build the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's capacity to catch tax cheats? 3) Do you support a Buffett rule for corporations, to force all big, profitable companies to pay a fair share of income tax?