Doyle proposes hospital tax, other cuts to balance Wis. budget
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Gov. Jim Doyle is proposing a tax on hospital profits, a transportation fund transfer and other cost-saving measures to deal with a $527 million state budget shortfall.
His plan does not have the backing of the Republican leader of the state Assembly. And the Democratic leader of the state Senate has pushed for closing tax loopholes that aren't in the plan.
Without the two legislative leaders on board, it appears the fight over closing the budget shortfall could drag on a while.
Doyle says the lines of communication are open and he hopes a deal can be reached soon.
Wisconsin was the last state to pass its two-year budget last year. It was more than three months late due to partisan bickering.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Mar 11, 2008 at 12:33 a.m.
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Note some key words here...."supported by the Wisconsin Hospital Association."
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Why do you think that might be?
Mar 11, 2008 at 12:21 a.m.
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"The hospital tax, supported by the Wisconsin Hospital Association, would have raised about $418 million from state hospitals. But it would have paid that back to them—and more—by bringing $575 million in new federal funds to increase how much hospitals receive for treating poor people on Medicaid.
The only thing hospitals had to do to receive more money than they paid in taxes was to increase the number of poor people they treated. That’s known as a win-win. Hospitals would do well by doing good.
So, what possible reason could Republicans have for opposing a proposal that would bring nearly $600 million in new federal funds into Wisconsin to expand health care for the poor?"
.http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2008/feb/15/democrats-consider-hospital-estate-taxes-plug-wis-/
Mar 11, 2008 at 12:19 a.m.
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Perhaps Mercy Hospital can avoid being taxed if they make a totally unrelated donation to Gov. Doyle's re-election campaign.
Mar 10, 2008 at 10:55 p.m.
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Sorry we weren't commenting, Pablo. We were in the "Bush declines to promise that more troops will return from Iraq before he leaves office" comment area waiting for you, but you never showed up to comment, and we wondered why. It's much easier to find because it seems to have a lot of attention, and has been around much longer than the 7 hours this story has been up.
As far as this tax, and it's understandable that money is short all over due to this miserable economy, I never trust a leader who promises "No New Taxes!" (Keep in mind, of course, that no one likes 'em.)
Mar 10, 2008 at 9:36 p.m.
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If a Democrat can find a way to raise and create new taxes they will. Just remember a Pres Obama will do the same thing. I find it interesting that all our democrat friends that usually post comments aren't commenting on this one.
Mar 10, 2008 at 8:46 p.m.
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Doyle is just a tax happy liberal.
Mar 10, 2008 at 8:23 p.m.
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Wasn't the hospital tax only a method to increase medicare reimbursement? The truth is out now. It is a money grab plain and simple. Next up: A grocery tax - followed by a funeral surcharge.
Mar 10, 2008 at 7:01 p.m.
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Well, we saw it coming with a democrat in office. It was going to happen that he was going to create a tax.
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