Several state senators sparred over a Democratic proposal to impose taxes on iron extracted from Wisconsin mines, adding another wrinkle to the contentious mining debate currently unfolding in the state.
State Sens. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, and Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, support a per ton tax on iron extracted from a possible northern mine, saying the money raised from the tax could go to local communities that currently suffer from high unemployment and degraded economies. These senators have also been some of the primary opponents of the controversial mining bill, which would ease Wisconsin’s permitting process, saying it would allow an environmentally unsafe mine to open in northern Wisconsin.
Democrats’ call for taxes gained wider attention after it drew criticism from Grover Norquist, the conservative president of Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist sent a letter to Wisconsin politicians Wednesday saying a tax on extracted iron would break the promise a number of state senators made to refrain from raising taxes.
Democrats criticized Norquist’s move, saying Norquist is too far removed from the situation to make an accurate judgment.
“Grover Norquist can’t find Northern Wisconsin on a map, and in opposing a plan that would help Wisconsin taxpayers, he shows his ignorance of the issue,” Jauch said in a statement.
Republican legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, have said they do not support the proposed tonnage tax, and because Republicans currently control both houses of the state legislature, any progress on the tonnage tax is unlikely.
Fitzgerald did not return a phone call regarding the issue, but his office released a statement criticizing Jauch for an earlier statement attacking Fitzgerald for his opposition to the tonnage tax.
“We can pass mining legislation that creates jobs in a safe and environmentally sound way,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “Before Senator Jauch votes to leave all of those good paying jobs buried underground, he should acknowledge the economic needs of his district.”
