The legislature hasn't taken up Governor Doyle's proposed tax on big oil yet and already the fight is on for their votes.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has launched the radio campaign calling it an automated tax increase.
WMC's Jim Pugh is on talk radio calling the proposal to tax big oil profits bad for the consumer by claiming the tax means seven cents more on the gallon that will only keep going up and up.
But Secretary of Revenue Roger Ervin says that approach isn't fair. He says it's a tactic that unfairly instills fear and citizenry.
Ervin says the administration is on solid legal ground by taxing big oil's gross receipts and preventing the tax from being passed on to consumers. He says the Supreme Court has already ruled on its constitutionality.
Ervin says he can't go into detail right now but audit models are being set up to protect gas customers from tax-related increases that includes studies on pricing, flowage and transportation of gasoline into the state.
Ervin likes to look at the tax assessment on big oil as an investment by the companies in the state's infrastructure. Something, he says, should increase the use of their product.
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WMC's Jim Pugh appeared on WIBA's Outside the Box with Mitch Henck. (Madison).
AUDIO: Jim Dick reports ( 1:17 MP3 )
