Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
The members of an organizationʼs board of directors are an immediate insight into the ideology of the organization. Liberals associate with liberal organizations; conservatives associate with conservative organizations. For instance, One Wisconsin Nowʼs board is comprised of exclusively progressive members and One Wisconsin Now is consistently labeled progressive.
A compelling interest exists in recognizing the connections between the board members of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC). The role of both boards has been established as central to the mission of the organizations. The WISTAX board “principally hires and advises the president of WISTAX, approves the annual budget, and assists with development efforts.”1 And, as stated by WMC vice president, James A. Buchen, “WMCʼs ideology is the ideology of the WMC board of directors and the WMC members."2
Fifteen of the 33 members that have served on the board of directors of WISTAX since 1994 have also served on the board of directors of WMC -- just under 50 percent. Since 1999, fourteen of the 25 WISTAX board members served on a WMC board. Five of the 12 current board members of WISTAX have served on WMCʼs board.
With one exception, every one of the 16 WISTAX chairs since 1986 has also served on the board of directors of WMC. This includes two members of the Knox family. The one exception is Jere D. McGaffey, a former tax committee chair of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (itself a branch of WMC). Conversely, of the 16 WMC chairs that have served since 1970, seven have served on the board of WISTAX.
The incontrovertible ties between the WISTAX and WMC boards are not only professional but also personal. Carol Ward Knox, the current chair of WISTAX, is the spouse of former WMC chair and current WMC board member, Randall Knox. William Knox, a former WISTAX board member, is the father of Randall. James R. Morgan, Sr., immediate former president of WISTAX, is the father of James R. Morgan, Jr., the current vice president of WMC. Additionally, Judith D. Pyle, a former WISTAX director, is married to Thomas F. Pyle, Jr., a former WMC director.
In addition to the numerous professional connections to the WMC board, WISTAX board members have also sat on the boards of various other chambers of commerce around the state. In fact, the vast majority of board members have been high-ranking executives and chairs of corporations -- with 15 serving as the heads of major financial institutions--while others have served in the corporate structure as corporate tax attorneys and corporate marketing executives.
Most importantly, the corporate interests that have constituted the board of directors of WISTAX since at least 1994 is reflected and in the pro-corporate, low-tax agenda on display in WISTAX reports made in its publications and commentary made to the media.
Current Board Members
Todd Berry
Berry has been the president of WISTAX since 1994. He joined WISTAX a year earlier as its vice president. Six WISTAX board members at the time of Berryʼs hiring were or would become WMC board members including instrumental WMC board member and then-WISTAX chair Roger L. Fitzsimonds (see above) and outspoken pro-corporate columnist and then-vice chair John B. Torinus.
Berry served as “Assistant Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue” throughout the Repulican Dreyfus administration. James S. Haney, president of WMC, served as “Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue under Governor Lee Dreyfus,” according to his online biography. In a 1999 article, Haney praised Berry, saying: "Todd has carried on a fine alliance tradition of analyzing the state's fiscal situation factually, almost dispassionately. The quality of his work is outstanding.”3
Berry is a frequent speaker at WMC and WMC-sponsored events, including Business Day in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Executives Conference and Retreat, and the Regional Network services. In April 2006, he toured the state as part of WMCʼs Regional Networks service, speaking to scores of WMC members. His lecture was titled, “Taxes, Workers, & Politicians: What you Need to Know.” From the WMC brochure:
Todd Berry, President of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, will present an update on Wisconsinʼs tax rankings, will look at migration in Wisconsin and how it will effect (sic) the future workforce, and will provide a primer on what issues business leaders should raise with their elected officials.
“In this informative section, Todd will talk about the real reasons Wisconsinʼs taxes are so high. WMC will also give an update on two of the associationʼs top priority issues, the Tax Reform Bill and the Taxpayer Protection Amendment.
...
Do you dare ask your politicians the tough questions about perennial state deficits, public employee compensation or public “misbehavior”? Todd will talk about ways to ask these difficult questions and the importance of doing so.
...
In the spring of 2004, Berry was a featured speaker at a Regional Network briefing, giving a talk called, “Why, oh why, are my taxes so high?” From the WMC brochure:
“The program includes a brief overview of the 2003-04 legislative session, and an in-depth discussion of the proposed constitutional amendment to limit taxes and spending in Wisconsin. Speakers include Todd Berry, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance; Jeff Wagner, WTMJ talk show host; and Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer.”
...
8:00 a.m. Why, oh why, are my taxes so high?
Todd Berry, President, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance
8:30 a.m. WI Amendment - Limiting Government Spending and Taxes
Mary Panzer, Senate Majority Leader
Jeff Wagner, WTMJ Talk Show Host of the “Jeff Wagner Show”
Current Board Members
Mark Cullen
Cullen is a major player in conservative causes and politics. He joined the WISTAX board as vice chair in 1998 and served as chair from 2001 to 2003. He joined the board of WMC in 2000 and currently sits on WMCʼs (c)3 board.
The Knox Family
Carol Ward Knox and her husband, Randall S. Knox, are prominent conservative activists. Carol joined the WISTAX board in 1999 and is the current board chair. Randall previously served as chair of WMC from 2002 to 2004. He currently serves on the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Foundation (WCCF) board, the 501(c)3 affiliate of WMC. Randallʼs father, William D. Knox, was a long-serving member of the WISTAX board, having served from before 1980 until 1998.
J. Douglas Quick
Quick is the president and CEO of Lakeside Foods, Inc. He has served on the board of WISTAX since 1991, during which time he was an active member of the board of WMC.
James R. Riordan
Riordan is the president and CEO of WPS Health Insurance. He joined the WISTAX board in 2009. Evidence of his tenure on WMCʼs board comes from a 1994 article in the Money section of the Wisconsin State Journal that indicated he was named to the WMC board in that year.4
Dale R. Schuh
Schuh is the president and CEO of Sentry Insurance, the fourth largest insurer in the nation, with over $2.5 billion in revenue in 2008. He was appointed vice-chair of the WISTAX board just one year after he first joined the board of WMC in 2001. Schuh served on the WMC board until 2007, during which time he ascended to the chair of the WISTAX board.
Thomas L. Spero
Spero was the office managing partner for Deloitte & Touche, the largest accounting firm in the Milwaukee area, where he performed audits on "about half of the largest public and privately held companies in Wisconsin."5 He joined the WMC board in 2003 and WISTAX board in 2008.
John "Jay" B. Williams
Williams, a former U.S. Bank president, is currently the COO of PrivateBancorp, Inc, a bank that provides “financial services to… public and privately held businesses, affluent individuals, wealthy families, professionals, entrepreneurs and real estate investors” with total assets of over $11 billion. Williams joined the WISTAX board in 2001, the same year he joined the WMC board.
Past Board Members
Roger L. Fitzsimonds
Fitzsimonds was a long-serving WISTAX board member. He chaired the organization throughout 1993 and 1994 when Todd A. Berry was hired as the WISTAX president. Fitzsimonds was also an influential WMC board member. From a 2008 article eulogizing the late Fitzsimonds:
The approach [of volunteering for committees and encouraging other executives to do the same] extended to the legislative front, where Fitzsimonds, as chairman of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce in the late 1980s, led the group to become active in pushing its business agenda with the state Legislature. “He said ʻI'm tired of always being on defense -- let's go play offense with a proactive legislative agenda,ʼ” recalls WMC president Jim Haney. The organization had two on-staff lobbyists at the time. Now it has seven and two to three contracted lobbyists, Haney said." 6
Dennis J. Kuester
Kuester served on both WISTAX and WMC board throughout the late-90s and 00s. He chaired WMC from 2000 to 2002, during which time he was also WISTAX vice chair. Kuester served as WISTAX chair from 2003 to 2005. Though no longer on these boards, he continues to support their efforts:
I respect, value and support WMC because it embodies its mission statement — WMC is...dedicated to fostering and advancing policies which are in the public interest of our state and nation.7
James R. Morgan, Jr. and James R. Morgan Sr.
James R. Morgan, Sr. served as the WISTAX president from 1977 until Berry became president in 1994. His son, James R., Jr., is a long-serving vice president of WMC who joined the group in 1987.
John A. Noer
Noer is a former energy industry executive who served on both the WISTAX and WMC boards in the late 1990s. A 1998 press indicates he was “re-elected” to the board of WMC.
San W. Orr
Orr is prominent conservative activist, having served on several high-profile Republican campaign steering committees and sitting on numerous conservative organizationsʼ boards. He has served on both WMCʼs and WISTAXʼs board, chairing WISTAX from 1988 and 1991.
Robert J. O'Toole
OʼToole was a long-serving member of both the WISTAX and WMC boards. OʼToole was the “fundraising chief” for the WMCʼs Issue Mobilization Council and was the chair of WISTAX in 2000 when he wrote a telling fundraising letter from WMC to corporate executives. From the Capital Times:
“Big questions confront us,” [OʼToole] wrote. “Will the Assembly remain in the hands of a business friendly (Republican) majority? Will the Senate expand its (Democratic) majority allied with big unions and trial lawyers? Will the business community be able to keep our issues -- lower taxes, workplace safety, tort reform, regulation relief, etc., on the front burner at the Capitol?"
"Will Wisconsin taxes remain in the top 10 in the nation? Will we stand up for business issues today, or ask ourselves in the next legislative session, 'Why is this happening to business?'”
Judith D. and Thomas F. Pyle
Judith Pyle is a financial industry executive who served on the WISTAX board from 1995 to 2001. Thomas F. Pyle is an industry executive who served on a WMC board in the late 1980s. He also has served on the boards of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and First Wisconsin National Bank of Madison.
Andrew E. Randall
Randall is a banking executive who moved to Wisconsin from Ohio in 2004 to become president of U.S. Bank following Jay B. Williamsʼs resignation. Shortly thereafter Randall was terminated. Randallʼs brief time as president of U.S. Bank appears to coincide with his time as a board member of both WISTAX and WMC.
Richard F. Teerlink
Teerlink is a retired president and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson Inc. He served the WISTAX board from 1993 to 1999, during which time he was also chair of WMC (1996-1998). He has sat on the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Foundation board since 2001.
John B. Torinus
Torinus is a pro-corporate columnist for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel business section and chairman & CEO of Serigraph Inc.. He was a long-serving board member of WISTAX and served as its chair between 1995 and 1997. He joined WMCʼs board in 1996.
Edward J. Zore
Zore is the president of Northwestern Mutual. In addition to the WISTAX and WMC boards, he has also serves on the board of MMAC and on the board of WPRI for the last fifteen years. He joined WISTAX in 2001 and WMC in 2005.
Other Corporate Connections
The WISTAX board of directors has had consistent and numerous direct ties to other state chambers of commerce as well as multimillion and multibillion dollar corporations that all promote a pro-corporate, conservative anti-tax policy agenda. Conversely, there is virtually no representation from leaders in the areas of workersʼ rights and labor unions, public eduction, or environmental protection on the WISTAX board.
Numerous WISTAX board members have served on chambers of commerce boards around the state, most notably the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC). James Ericson joined the WISTAX board in 1994, the same year Berry became WISTAX president, and served until 1999. He chaired MMAC from as early as 2000 until 2002. Dennis Kuester chaired WMC from 2000 to 2002, WISTAX from 2003 to 2005, and MMAC from 2004 to 2006. Other WISTAX board members who served on the MMAC board include Roger Fitzsimonds, Jere McGaffey, Robert OʼToole, Andrew Randall, Thomas Spero, Jay Williams, and Edward Zore. Current board members Mark Bugher and James Riordan sit on the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce board, with Bugher as its chair. Current board member Jeffrey Adams previously served as president of the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce.
The corporate connections do not stop at chambers of commerce, however. Of the 33 individuals that have served on the WISTAX board since 1994, 22 have been high-ranking executives and chairs of corporations, including 17 presidents and CEOs. Most notably, 15 WISTAX board members have been CEOs, chairs, or board members of financial institutions. They include:
- Daniel Bollom, Associated Bank-Corp
- Richard Buth: M&I Bank Corp.
- Russell Cleary: First State Bancorp.
- Mark Cullen: M&I Bank Corp.
- Roger Fitzsimonds: U.S. Bancorp
- William Knox: First American Bank and Trust
- Dennis Kuester: M&I Bank Corp., Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
- David Moffett: U.S. Bancorp
- San Orr: M&I Bank Corp.
- Robert O'Toole: M&I Bank Corp.
- Peter Platten: M&I Bank Corp.
- J. Douglas Quick: Associated Bank-Corp
- Andrew Randall: U.S. Bancorp
- Richard Teerlink: U.S. Bancorp
- Jay Williams: PrivateBancorp, U.S. Bancorp
The WISTAX board has also included three corporate tax attorneys: long-serving WISTAX secretary-treasurer, Jere McGaffey, Carl Fortner, and Leonard Sosnowski. Sosnowski was key player in drafting the early-90s Wisconsin legislation that allowed corporations to lessen their tax burden by setting up limited liability companies (LLCs). The increased usage of LLCs has resulted in a decrease in corporate tax collections, and thus, Wisconsin revenue.
Current WISTAX chair Carol Knox is a retired executive of a corporate press relations firm, Morgan & Myers. She was appointed to the Wisconsin Agricultural Board by Republican Governor Lee Dreyfus in 1981 and served until 1993 when it was revealed she ran two state-wide public relations campaigns for Kraft General Foods while the company was under investigation by the Agricultural Board, of which she was the chair. She came under additional scrutiny for conflict of interest after she voted on the regulation of atrazine, a herbicide that contaminates drinking water, while her public relations firm was representing a manufacturer of the chemical.
Pro-Corporate Agenda
CASE STUDY: 2009-11 STATE BUDGET
WISTAX universally reaches conclusions and makes assumptions that reflect the clear conservative anti-tax agenda of the numerous pro-corporate interests represented on its board. This agenda is reflected consistently in WISTAX reports, through consistent reinforcement that Wisconsin pays much more in taxes compared to the rest of the nation. An ingenuous tactic WISTAX employs – isolate just a few taxes which put Wisconsin ahead of the national average and lump corporate taxes as one of them, as though the corporate taxes are unfairly high in Wisconsin. In fact, itʼs just the opposite.
A 2009 analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, showed that corporate taxes are “Collectively, they are middle of the pack among states in terms of their bite on Wisconsin's total income.” The article notes that in past years, the stateʼs rank was as high as 15, still nowhere near tops in the nation.
WISTAX rallied for the corporate cause throughout 2009. Take for instance the stateʼs budget woes, caused almost single-handedly by the nationwide economic collapse resulting from the failed policies of George W. Bush, as well as the lost revenue due to the nearly $1 trillion in tax cuts which overwhelmingly benefited the top 1 percent of income earners.
Not only did Todd Berry erroneously predict the deficit would be a manageable $650 million to $1 billion, but also as late as November 2008, Berry called a prediction by the state that its deficit would be a whopping $5.4 billion “unreal.”
Coincidentally, Berryʼs claims that the budget deficit would be minimal came as opposition to the excesses of Wall Street and the George W. Bush bailout fostered a mistrust of corporations nationally and in Wisconsin. With leaders in the state legislature facing an immediate need to generate revenue, their sights were squarely on closing the “Las Vegas Loophole.” This ridiculous corporate giveaway allowed corporations avoid their tax obligations for profit reaped in Wisconsin by setting up a phantom post office box office in places without corporate income tax. The savings to Wisconsin taxpayers over a decade will exceed $1 billion.
This is by no means the only instance of WISTAX putting an “independent” face on the corporate-tax avoidance agenda of WMC. Take for instance this statement, which has become a standard line in the annual WISTAX “Wisconsin Total Taxes” reports: “…the main story of the corporate income tax is its lack of predictability.”8
In fact, the corporate income tax is no more unpredictable than other taxes. Attacking the use of the tax helps WISTAX create a policy environment in support of decreased corporate taxes. According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, corporate taxes have been anything but unpredictable. Since 1997, biennial corporate tax collections have remained consistent, ranging between 5.0 percent and 7.1 percent of total tax collections. There have been fluctuations in the amounts collected, but as it relates to total taxes collected, the corporate income tax, despite WISTAX yearly pronouncements, is in fact, predictable.9
The process is simple: WISTAX produces “research” that reinforces the consistent WMC message that corporations in Wisconsin are unfairly taxed.
Lastly, ask yourself this question: Would the strategic minds of WMC be supporting WISTAX if it were producing material that said corporations were paying too little?
PDF version of this WISTAX Watch report
Endnotes
1 Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. “75 Years of Citizen Education.” The Wisconsin Taxpayer. January 2007.
2 James A. Buchen, Vice President, WMC. Letter to Wisconsin Editors. August 20, 2008
3 Michele Derus. “Shedding light on taxes.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 12, 1999.
4 Elaine Winter. “Changes.” Wisconsin State Journal. January 28, 1994.
5 Paul Gores. “Deloitte office names new leader. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. June 11, 2008.
7 Dennis J. Kuester. Testimonial. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.
8 Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. “Wisconsin Total Taxes: 2007.” The Wisconsin Taxpayer. November 2007.
9 Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. ”Corporate Income/Franchise Tax.” January 2009.
