Wisconsin Department of Revenue


The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for the administration of all tax laws, as well as valuing property and overseeing the wholesale distribution of alcoholic beverages and enforcement of liquor laws. The Department also administers the state's unclaimed property program and the state lottery.
The department headquarters are located at the State Revenue Building in south central Madison, Wisconsin. The current Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is Peter Barca. He was appointed by Governor Tony Evers on January 8, 2019.

History

In the late 19th century, as the economy was shifting, Wisconsin's farmers began to raise concerns that the property-based tax system placed a disproportionate burden on them while many newer industries and corporations were able to escape taxation by hiding their property in other financial instruments. Milwaukee attorney Kossuth Kent Kennan, then a tax attorney working for the Wisconsin Central Railroad, was the first to draft and propose a state tax commission to investigate and propose reforms to the taxation system. Kennan convinced a legislator to introduce his proposal in the 1889 session of the Legislature, but it was not enacted. Kennan continued his efforts for several more years, and, in 1897, when the last hurdle to passage was the Legislature's reluctance to appropriate $6,000 for the project, Kennan pledged to raise the money himself to fund his commission. The bill passed as .
The first Wisconsin Tax Commission was a short term study of existing tax policy. Kennan, along with former congressman Burr W. Jones and attorney George Curtis, Jr., were charged with producing a report by the end of 1898. The report laid out the inequities of the current system, substantiating the concerns of the farmers that other non-tangible forms of property were being taxed at a substantial discount, and that the entire system suffered from inconsistent valuation and irregular assessment. They suggested that, in addition to reforms to tax law, the state required a new system of tax administration by trained, objective, non-elected state officials.
The Legislature responded to their report and the Tax Commission was reauthorized for another ten years, with a mandate to investigate and supervise the state taxation system. Under the new Progressive Republican Governor Robert M. La Follette, who came into office two years later, the commission's mandate was considerably expanded to give them power over tax equalization in the state, and additional powers to enjoin local tax officials. Finally, in 1905, the Tax Commission was made a permanent entity of state government, with three commissioners each appointed to eight-year terms.
In 1939, a major reorganization under Governor Julius P. Heil converted the previous three-member Tax Commission into a Department of Taxation headed by a single commissioner, while creating the separate entity known as the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission, now attached to the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
The Department of Revenue was created in 1967 from the previous Department of Taxation as part of the state government reorganization plan proposed by the "Kellett Commission," named for chairman William R. Kellett.

Organization

Leadership

The senior leadership of the Department consists of the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Assistant Deputy Secretary, along with the administrators heading up the divisions of the Department.

Office of the Secretary

Subdivisions include:
The Division of State and Local Finance is responsible for establishing the state's equalized values for property tax purposes. They assess commercial, manufacturing, telecommunication, airport, railroad, and other special property, and provide financial management, training, and certification for municipal and county governments on administration of the state property tax policies. In addition, they administer state shared revenue and property tax relief payments to local governments.
Subdivisions include:
The Division of Income, Sales and Excise Tax administers individual income, employee withholding, corporate franchise/income, state and county sales/use, estate, excise, recycling, and other state tax programs. It also administers various state tax credits, including the homestead, farmland preservation, earned income tax credits. The Division works to promote voluntary tax compliance and to identify and address noncompliance, and to promote fairness and equity in the administration of state tax law.
Subdivisions include:
The Research and Policy Division provides analyses and reports of state fiscal and economic policies for the Secretary of Revenue, the Executive Office, and other state officials. They provide assessments of current and proposed tax and revenue laws, and prepare revenue estimates for the development of the state budget.
Subdivisions include:
The Division of Enterprise Services provides the Department with a wide range of support services, including administrative support, budget and financial management, business planning and performance measurement, printing, records management, personnel, affirmative action, employee development, employment relations, and management improvement studies.
Subdivisions include:
The Division of Wisconsin Lottery is charged with the security and administration of the state lottery and related regulations.
Subdivisions include:
The Division of Technology Services provides technology services for the Department, including data collection and management, applications development and support, server and network support, workstation setup and support, and technology planning. The division also manages information and technology standards, policies, and guidelines for the department to ensure information security and good stewardship of electronic resources.
Subdivisions include:
Separate from the ordinary organizational structure of the Department, there are a number of specific commissions created by acts of the Wisconsin Legislature to oversee, advise, or administer certain functions.

Commissioners (1897–1939)

CommissionerTook officeLeft officeAppointing GovernorNotes
Burr W. Jones18971898Edward Scofield
K. K. Kennan18971898Edward Scofield
George Curtis, Jr.18971898Edward Scofield
Michael Griffin18991899Edward ScofieldChairman
Died in office
George Curtis, Jr.18991911Edward Scofield
Norman S. Gilson18991911Edward ScofieldChairman
William J. Anderson19001901Edward Scofield
Nils P. Haugen19011921Robert M. La FolletteChairman
Thomas E. Lyons19111925Francis E. McGovernChairman
Thomas S. Adams19111915Francis E. McGovern
Carroll D. Atwood19151926Emanuel L. PhilippChairman
Died in office
Charles D. Rosa19211935John J. Blaine
Fred R. Zimmerman 		Chairman
William J. Conway19251939John J. Blaine
Albert G. Schmedeman 		Chairman
A. W. Kimball19271929Fred R. Zimmerman
Edward L. Kelley19291932Walter J. Kohler, Sr.Chairman
Alvin M. Johnson19331937Albert G. Schmedeman
Herbert L. Mount19371939Philip La Follette
Henry A. Gunderson19371939Philip La Follette

Commissioners (1939–1967)

CommissionerTook officeLeft officeGovernor
Elmer E. Barlow19391943Julius P. Heil
Arthur E. Wegner19431951Walter Samuel Goodland
Arthur E. Wegner19431951Oscar Rennebohm
Harry W. Harder19511953Walter J. Kohler, Jr.
Arthur E. Wegner19531955Walter J. Kohler, Jr.
Harry W. Harder19551959Walter J. Kohler, Jr.
Harry W. Harder19551959Vernon Wallace Thomson
John A. Gronouski19601963Gaylord Nelson
George W. Corning19631965John W. Reynolds Jr.
James R. Morgan19651967Warren P. Knowles

Secretaries (1967–present)