Last week, the now-liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld 4-3 a controversial veto from Gov. Tony Evers in the state budget. The partial veto increased the property tax levy limit for school districts for 400 years, four centuries longer than the Legislature’s intent.
The WMC Litigation Center represented two taxpayers in the lawsuit, arguing the governor’s move was an overstep because he increased appropriations by striking individual digits to form a new number.
WMC’s Scott Manley joined Meg Ellefson to discuss the ruling, saying the Court’s decision sets a terrible precedent: “In the state of Wisconsin, one person can decide to raise property taxes by ultimately trillions of dollars unilaterally, and without the consent of the governed, the legislature signing off on it. And there’s nothing we can do about it.”
With property taxes, Manley argued, you don’t have a choice to not pay or find a different provider.
“We continue to spend more and more money on education and get worse and worse results; it’s very frustrating for taxpayers.”
