Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke has suggested that she is open to the possibility of raising taxes on the wealthy - at least by changing the deductions.
"I believe in people paying their fair share," Burke told The Capital Times.
But Republicans are asking if Burke has always paid her fair share. Specifically, Burke - now a Madison millionaire - paid no state income taxes for three full years during the 1990s and only a minimal amount in another year. She lived outside Wisconsin for most of that time.
Records show the one-time Trek Bicycle executive paid no taxes to the state in 1990 and 1992-'93. She paid $2,807 in 1991. Numerous stories and her Facebook page say she went to work for Trek, a Waterloo-based company founded by her father, as director of European operations in 1990.
By comparison, she has paid more than $100,000 in state income taxes in three of the past four years.
"It is deeply concerning that Millionaire Mary Burke didn't pay taxes at several points in her career, and she owes the people of Wisconsin a serious explanation - not excuses," said Joe Fadness, executive director of the state Republican Party.
Burke spokesman Joe Zepecki said there is no issue here. Burke plans to challenge Republican Gov. Scott Walker during his 2014 re-election bid.
"Mary Burke paid the taxes she owed," Zepecki said.
First, Zepecki said, Burke did not go to work for her father's business in 1990, as has been reported and stated in numerous stories. Zepecki chalked up the error to a "typo."
Burke was actually in New York working at a start-up company called Manhattan Intelligence, selling off her interest in the firm a year later. She landed at Trek for a short period in 1991 before moving to Europe to oversee the company's European operations.
Zepecki said she was not a resident of Wisconsin during that two-year period, meaning she was exempt from paying state taxes.
Actually, as with most tax-related issues, this issue is not simple.
Cindy Gruber, an adjunct accounting instructor at Marquette University, said someone living abroad has to file a state tax return here if the person's Wisconsin gross income - the amount earned before deductions - is at least $2,000 for a particular year.
Whether someone owes state income taxes, Gruber said, depends on the credits, deductions and exclusions available to that person.
The federal government allows individuals living abroad for more than 330 days in a year to exempt foreign earnings up to a certain amount, thus lowering the amount of taxes owed. The figure was $70,000 for 1993.
"So if the taxpayer qualifies for the federal foreign earned income exclusion, then that income would not be included in Wisconsin income, either," Gruber said. Jennifer Western, assistant deputy secretary at the state Department of Revenue, said it also depends on whether the income earned by the individual living abroad is "sourced" to Wisconsin.
"Wages paid by a Wisconsin business to a nonresident for work performed abroad would not be Wisconsin-sourced income," Western said. So how would all of this apply to Burke? In truth, it would be difficult to tell without seeing her return, showing the income level and all the deductions. But you can be sure that Republicans will continue to raise the issue.
"It's ironic that Mary Burke continues to dodge the tough questions in this race and hypocritical that Democrats only want to talk about taxes when it's convenient for them," Fadness said.
Doth protest too much
Former labor official Paula Zellner has gone from deriding the wealthy to working for a Madison millionaire. Burke's campaign confirmed Wednesday that it has hired Zellner to oversee grassroots organizing for the campaign.
Last year, the one-time labor organizer garnered media attention after she was ticketed for illegally picketing during a rowdy Racine protest that police said left some attendees "visibly traumatized." The rally was aimed at satirizing rich Republicans.
"We've been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic support across Wisconsin, and she'll make sure we're harnessing that energy as we build a professional, statewide campaign organization to take on Scott Walker," Zepecki said of the new hire. Zepecki declined to answer questions about Zellner and the Racine protest.
A former aide to then-U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, Zellner worked for the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Wisconsin for nearly a year starting in May 2011.
In January 2012, she was one of 17 protesters demonstrating and mocking the wealthy donors at a fundraiser for Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) at the home of conservative bigwig Fred Young just off Lake Michigan in Racine.
The protesters - many arriving in a stretch limousine - were clad in top hats and dresses, pretending to be the wealthiest 1%. In a police report, a witness described Zellner as "abrasive" and the main instigator.
The Journal Times in Racine reported in its story:
"Some (guests) were elderly and visibly traumatized by the confrontation," according to the police report. A 75-year-old Racine County woman "was trembling and near tears," the report states. "One (protester) kept trying to grab her and force her to have a photograph taken with the group. She said they were mocking her."
Zellner and the others at the rally - organized by Wisconsin Jobs Now - were ticketed for illegally picketing a private home, an ordinance violation that carries a $271.50 fine. The protesters fought the tickets, arguing that the citations infringed upon their First Amendment right to free speech. But Racine Municipal Judge Mark F. Nielsen ruled against the demonstrators late last year.
"If a homeowner wants to host a political meeting, or a Fourth of July picnic, or an election eve party, so long as it is held privately they may do so without surrendering the expectation that the privacy of the residence will not be disturbed," Nielsen wrote.
'the pot calling the kettle black'.
This policy of 'going after the rich' has been expected in recent years and is a Democratic favorite, but it isn't meant to be real, just for show as are most political ploys to get the masses to follow their puppet instead of the other puppet, when both puppets are owned by the same puppet master and perform at its pleasure. It is a typical distraction at this point in the program.