Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Redistribution of wealth goes to Corporations; The Private sector, Free market Myth.

This nice piece from Blue Cheddar points out the Walker administrations attempts to redistribute tax dollars to...corporations. 

The good news;
Wausau Mayor Jim Tipple and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker were on hand in Wausau Monday morning as the CEO of Collaborative Consulting, Bill Robichaud, announced plans for his company to locate 200 new jobs in Wausau over the next two years.
The bad news;
Walker was there to emphasize that the state of Wisconsin will be contributing 2.25 million dollars toward the new facility in the form of tax credits arranged through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The city of Wausau will also kick in up to $450,000.
The free market, private sector job creation myth:
(An) interesting clause in the agreement states that the “Jobs Tax Credits are refundable.” The credits will first be used to offset any state income taxes that might be owed by Collaborative Consulting, but after that, the company will get what the agreement refers to as a REFUND of the unused credits. The Earned Income Tax Credit works the same way for the working poor in Wisconsin. Low income workers get a credit on their state income taxes that are refundable even if it exceeds their tax liability. Governor Walker’s recent budget slashed that tax credit for working families. In March, Governor Walker defended the cuts, calling the Earned Income Tax Credit a “redistribution program” that involves “taking money from other taxpayers and giving it to individuals who have a limited tax liability.”

If all the tax credits are utilized by Collaborative Consulting, Wisconsin and Wausau taxpayers will pay $13,500 in credits and refunds for each one of the 200 jobs.
Blue Cheddar sums it up this way:
Governor Walker calls that the free market creating private sector jobs. I call it a redistribution program that involves taking money from Wisconsin’s taxpayers and giving it to corporations who have a limited tax liability.  

No comments:

Post a Comment