Wisconsin Considering Local 'Pothole Tax'

"The [Wisconsin] state Assembly will soon debate a bill allowing counties to levy a 0.5 percent sales tax to rebuild crumbling local streets and highways," according to an article by Steven Walters.

Any county tax would require a local referendum, and funding raised by the surtax "would be divided according to a formula based on the miles of roadways maintained by each county, city, village and town," adds Walters. The "State Pothole Repair Act," as the bill is known, is authored by Republican Dean Knudson, and is expected to face stiff resistance in the State Senate.

The debate surrounding the bill, however, indicates the ongoing infrastructure funding needs in the state of Wisconsin. Walters quotes Dan Bahr, of the Wisconsin Counties Association, in discussing the benefits of a potential surtax. Taxes, however, are strongly opposed by Gov. Scott Walker, who last February killed a transportation funding program that relied on an increased gas tax and other user fees in favor of bond funding and debt service.

Around the state, "62 of the 72 counties now levy a 0.5% sales tax to help pay for other local programs. If those same 62 counties levied a new half-cent sales tax to maintain local highways, streets and bridges, it could raise about $333 million a year," according to estimates from the state Department of Revenue.

Craig Thompson, executive director of the Transportation Development Association, is also quoted in the article, noting that the "Pothole Repair Tax" does not allow counties the discretion to fund transit or other forms of transportation.