The Greater Milwaukee Committee produced a report indicating that the county had come to be "in such dire financial shape that state lawmakers should push through legislation that would allow it and other local governments to file for bankruptcy" as reported in the JSonline.

All I know for sure.. I am sick an tired of half truthed political ads running every few minutes of my life. Between signs on the side of the road.. the radio ads running non stop and the little TV I watch being dominated by this shell game is nauseating.

Originally Posted by: Pack93z 

Diane Hendricks , the richest woman in Wisconsin, had a state income tax bill of zero for 2010, state records show.

The goose egg in 2010 was the first zero obligation posted by the Beloit billionaire since at least 2002, according to records from the state Department of Revenue and ABC Supply Inc., the nation's largest wholesale distributor of roofing, windows and siding and owned by Hendricks. She had a seven-figure Wisconsin tax bill in four of the previous five years, the records show.

Hendricks was thrust into the spotlight last month when a videotape showing her talking with Gov. Scott Walker about strategies to fight unions was released. In the tape, which is part of a documentary under production, Walker talked about using a "divide and conquer" strategy toward unions through his budget-adjustment bill, which curtailed most collective bar gaining for most public employee unions and created a political uproar that will culminate with Tuesday's recall election.

An active financial supporter of conservative causes, Hendricks has given Walker's campaign more than $500,000, making her Walker's largest donor.

Her state tax obligation dropped from $2.26 million for 2009 to zero for 2010 because of a change in the corporate structure of ABC Supply said Scott Bianchini, ABC tax director. The company paid taxes of $373,671 for the second half of 2010, the records show.

Bianchini explained that before 2010, ABC Supply was an "S" corporation, meaning the profits and the tax obligation flowed to Hendricks as the owner of the firm. In 2010, the company changed its structure so the profits and the tax obligation stay with the company.

"Now ABC is paying taxes on its own," Bianchini said.

Hendricks' March net worth was estimated by Forbes Magazine to be $2.8 billion - some $300 million more than Helen Johnson-Leipold, chief executive of Johnson Outdoors Inc. The magazine last year listed Hendricks as No. 188 on its ranking of the wealthiest people in America, a spot that had her as the financial equal of William Randolph Hearst III.

Bianchini declined to comment when asked whether Hendricks, who is chairman of ABC, had other income such as salary or dividends that could have been taxed in 2010.

He also declined to say why ABC's tax bill in 2010 was so low compared with what Hendricks had paid on its behalf in prior years, when its profits flowed to her bottom line.

"Diane is not willing to divulge any more," Bianchini said. "ABC converted to a 'C' corporation - that's a substantial part of why there's no 2010 tax liability (for Hendricks)."

He added that there were other reasons Hendricks paid zero state income taxes in 2010.

"We're just not willing to get into it," Bianchini said. "It's just digging, in our opinion, too deep into her taxes."

Hendricks, who worked with her husband, Kenneth, in building ABC, became chairman of the company after her husband died in 2007. The company now posts annual revenue of more than $4 billion.

MADISON  — A government watchdog group says outside groups have spent more than $20 million in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall.

Democrats forced Republican Gov. Scott Walker into a recall after he introduced a bill all but ending collective bargaining for most public workers. Walker faces Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in Tuesday’s election.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has been tracking recall spending since the recall drive began in November. The group says outside special interest groups have spent $21.5 million on the governor’s race.

The top spender is the Right Direction Wisconsin political action committee operated by the Republican Governors Association with $8.7 million.

The second biggest spender is the Greater Wisconsin Political Independent Expenditure Fund, a corporation created by the liberal attack group Greater Wisconsin Committee. The fund has spent $4.8 million.

Top tax lawyers don't make $500 and up an hour for reminding their clients to take the Earned Income credit. They make it for ensuring that the tax code and Treasury regulations are written in ways that benefit their clients by tens of millions.

Originally Posted by: Wade