Viewpoint

Why Wisconsin Needs a Flat Tax and Education Reform

Governor, legislature should seek compromise on these policy priorities 

By Mike Nichols

My hope for 2023 is that every legislator in Madison will talk to somebody in their district who lost their small business or their job, and ask why.  

Shouldn’t be hard to find them.  

Between March of 2020 and March of 2021 — the last period of time for which I could find data — 17,364 Wisconsin establishments opened and 13,698 closed, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Almost all of those were small businesses. 

The churn is constant — and, overall, positive at first glance. We had a net increase of over 3,600 businesses in just that year, according to the SBA. But there’s a downside too — a very significant one.

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Fact Sheets

Transportation Funding Fact Sheet

The Badger Institute has a growing library of one-pagers highlighting facts, data, trends and recommendations on a variety of policy issues.

The motor vehicle fuel tax, long the mainstay for highway funding in Wisconsin, is becoming unsustainable as a revenue source due to increased vehicle mileage and popularity of vehicles that use no fuel.

An alternative is to replace the gas tax with a mileage-based user fee. Previous surveys of tolling as a replacement showed lukewarm sentiment in Wisconsin, but we now have the benefit of other states’ experiments with mileage-based user fees. Those pilot projects generally offered participants options for how they wanted their miles recorded and reported, with steps taken to avoid tracking and to protect driver privacy.

Download the fact sheet

Thanks to your generous support, 2023 is a happy new year, indeed. The Badger Institute exists to engage and energize Wisconsinites on key public policy issues critical to the state’s future, growth and prosperity — and that’s exactly what we’re positioned to do... because of you.

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Free Exchange Podcast

Free-Market Reforms Will Make Wisconsin Thrive

Research shows that states in which individuals, businesses and entrepreneurs have greater economic freedom grow more rapidly, produce better labor market outcomes and attract more people. So, what steps can Wisconsin take to ensure that its residents enjoy the benefits of a strong, free-market economy?

Touching on issues ranging from tax reform and migration to occupational licensure, economist James Bohn outlines proven measures for keeping Wisconsin productive and prosperous in 2023 and beyond.

Listen in

Poll: Many Wisconsinites unclear on how state taxes compare to neighbors

While low in some areas, others need immediate reform

By Patrick McIlheran

A new poll found a surprising gap in voters’ understanding of how Wisconsin taxes compare to neighboring states, even as an unprecedented state revenue surplus makes tax reform a key issue in Madison.  

The poll, of 480 registered voters in December, asked, “How do the taxes people pay in Wisconsin compare to the taxes people pay in neighboring states?”  

One-third said we pay more than people in neighboring states. Sixteen percent said we pay less; 22% said “about the same” — and a whopping 29% said they did not know or would not venture an opinion. The numbers didn’t vary much by partisanship, either.

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Badger on the Air

On Tuesday, Badger Institute President Mike Nichols joined Wausau-area radio talk host Meg Ellefson discuss Act 10, the Wisconsin Supreme Court and more.

Listen now

Weekly Survey: Should tax reform and education freedom be priorities for state lawmakers?

Previous Poll Results

What We’re Reading

• Buckeye Institute: Governor Signs Universal Occupational License Recognition into Law

• Institute for Justice: Victory for Wisconsin Home Bakers

• Center Square: School choice options expand across U.S. in 2022

• City Journal: Systems Within a System



• First Things: Return to the Classics

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