The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance was established in 1932 by a group of business leaders to convince the state to cut corporate taxes and reduce public investments. Initially founded to directly lobby for lower taxes and less public investment, WISTAX claims it moved away from directly advocating for conservative policies to focus more on “public education.”
During the 70+ years of its existence, WISTAX methods have changed little – stoke fears of taxes and highlight selective statistics that seem to point to “out-of-control” government spending, which both builds opposition to taxes on the wealthy, and encourages less public investment.
Just how little the WISTAX message has changed over time? Examine the evidence:
1936: In an article titled “How the New Deal Wastes the People’s Money,” a WISTAX study showed that tax collections “are the highest of any year in history” and criticized the Roosevelt administration for increasing expenditures in “almost every instance.” [Milwaukee Sentinel, 9/16/36]
1943: “The subject for the discussion will be ‘The Tax Problem.' Taking part in the discussion will be Paul N. Reynolds, of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance." [Milwaukee Sentinel, 3/14/43]. “In its annual review of Wisconsin taxation the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance announces that the total of state and local taxes collected in Wisconsin during 1943 will be the highest in the history of the state.” [Milwaukee Sentinel, 3/19/43]
1961: “Wisconsin was described Tuesday as a state which soaks the manufacturer and high income groups and gives tax favors to the poor by Charles Alexander, a vice president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.” [Milwaukee Sentinel, 9/27/61]
WISTAX has long been tied to conservative interests in Wisconsin, particularly banking. In the 1960s, First Wisconsin National bank president and chairman Joseph Simpson was arguably the highest-profile member of the WISTAX board. M.E. Nevins served on the board of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance in the 1970s and 1980s at the same time he served on the board of First National Bank. During Nevin’s tenure on the WISTAX board, he was elected as chairman of the board of Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce, the state’s largest and most powerful corporate lobby group, proof of the long-standing connection between the conservative interest group and the supposedly “independent” WISTAX. [Milwaukee Sentinel, 5/19/80]
The WMC agenda and WISTAX agenda have historically mirrored each other. And it continues today. When a windfall profits tax on oil companies was first proposed in the legislature in 1983, WMC loudly opposed the bill. So did WISTAX. A 1982 study by WISTAX applauded the business tax climate in Wisconsin that allowed industrial firms to pay less taxes than firms “in every state except Alabama.” WISTAX went to bat for big business interests in a fight over tax payments, and went so far as to publish a 1985 report excoriating Democratic Governor Tony Earl over delays in the tax assessment appeals process.
A 1984 commission, headed by WISTAX president James R. Morgan, recommended eliminating itemized deductions in exchange for a massive cut in the top tax rate. According to the Milwaukee Sentinel, “business people [have] clamored for cutting Wisconsin’s high personal income tax.” Among the most vocal supporters of the massive tax cut for the wealthy was Jere McGaffey. “A substantial [income tax] reduction is important for business development,” McGaffey said. McGaffey was then appointed to the WISTAX board in 1998 and he is the current secretary/treasurer of the WISTAX board.
James Morgan, president of WISTAX from 1977 to 1993, admitted in the Business Journal of Milwaukee that WISTAX’s major supporters were corporate heavy weights. “When two Wisconsin firms merge, you can plan a loss. You won’t get the sum of their previous support, but a share of it. And if corporate headquarters leave the state, that money is often gone.” [Business Journal of Milwaukee, 8/19/1991] In the late 80s, WISTAX lost one of its top ten supporters when Ohio-based Banc One acquired another corporation and stopped funding the group. Prior to 1977, Morgan served on the WISTAX board, during which time he also served as Revenue Secretary for Republican Governor Warren Knowles. [Milwaukee Sentinel, 11/22/71]
Continuing the revolving door between Republican administrations and leadership of the supposedly-independent WISTAX, Todd Berry became president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance in 1994. The former chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party and husband to a former Republican state legislator, Berry brought serious Republican credentials. Under Berry’s leadership, the Taxpayers Alliance increased its outreach efforts to the media and moved aggressively to create propaganda that advances its regressive tax agenda and calls for less public investment to widen its audience immeasurably.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the WISTAX reports were largely relegated to the conservative Milwaukee Sentinel, and the organization generated media hits in the dozens. Under Berry’s leadership, the visibility of WISTAX in media has grown exponentially. In 1999, WISTAX generated about 200 media hits; since 2000 WISTAX and Todd Berry have appeared in thousands of news articles, radio news broadcasts, and TV news segments.
The WISTAX message remains constant -- cut taxes for the rich and corporations and reduce public investment, especially in public school funding. Headlines and quotes from WISTAX have changed little over the years:
- "Wisconsin rose from eighth to first place among the states in state and local taxes per $1,000 of personal income during the four years ending in mid-1970, according to a tabulation by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance." (For an in-depth examination of the WISTAX tactic of manipulation of data to inflate Wisconsin's tax ranking, check out the "Total Tax Fallacy" report on WISTAX Watch) ["Income tax bite in state leads U.S. Milwaukee Journal, 11/18/1971]
- “According to the WI Taxpayers Alliance, this would increase taxes 41% for virtually all state corporations. ” [“Business fights boost in corporate income tax.” Milwaukee Journal, 3/14/1971]
- “Future budget 'fixes' could mean… an expansion of the corporate income tax.” [Todd Berry, Guest Column, Wisconsin State Journal, 4/1/08]
- “By whatever measure you use, we’re up there with the high-tax states,” [Berry] concluded. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/12/1999]
WISTAX doesn’t actually represent the interests of taxpayers and Wisconsin’s working families, and despite Berry’s efforts to sell the WISTAX agenda of lower taxes for corporations and the rich and less public investment, WISTAX has struggled to connect with the general public. “Ironically, he has failed…in drawing the common man into his work,” Michael Derus wrote in a profile of Berry in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “[WISTAX] relationship to everyday citizens is more symbolic than direct.”
