Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Mary Burke

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Madison — Republican Gov. Scott Walker boasts a more aggressive pledge and record on taxes overall, while his opponent, Democrat Mary Burke, is promising to focus on ordinary taxpayers.

And neither candidate is ruling out raising new money for roads.

Both candidates said they would like to hogtie Wisconsin's taxes, which, depending on the measure stick, go a bit beyond the national average or far past it. But the incumbent and the challenger have crucial differences.

For his part, Walker pointed to his first-term tax cuts and promised more of the same in a second term.

"Over the next four years, I will lower the overall burden on the hardworking taxpayers each year I am in office. Specifically, property taxes on a typical home will be lower in 2018 than they are this year (which means they will be lower than they were in 2010)," Walker said in a written statement.

Sitting down with a reporter in her campaign office, Burke trained her sights on property taxes but put her emphasis on the middle class.

"Our property taxes are definitely high and it is a burden on a lot of families, and the goal is to get those down but still be able to run effective, accountable services," she said.

Taxes always spark debate, even when it's just about how high they really are.

For instance, through one lens Wisconsin's taxes in 2011 ranked eighth among all states. That's using the most up-to-date U.S. Census Bureau numbers available and then calculating taxes in the state as a percentage of its personal income — the residents' ability to pay the taxes.

If Wisconsin's taxes are ranked according to the number of state residents rather than by income, then the state's rank falls to 17th. If the state is judged by all taxes and fees imposed from within the state, the government costs here rank 13th according to our income and 19th according to our population.

The rankings include only the first six months of Walker's first term.

Since then, the governor and Republican lawmakers have passed several rounds of tax cuts adding up to more than $1.9 billion over the four years between July 2011 and June 2015.

Walker's previous cuts

As laid out in an April report by the Legislature's budget office, those cuts include:

■ Lowering property taxes by $536 million.

■ Decreasing income tax rates, amounting to $750 million over the past two years.

■ Nearly eliminating income taxes on profits from manufacturing and farming in Wisconsin, a change that drops them by $127 million and even more going forward.

■ Lowering capital gains taxes in certain cases where the gains are reinvested in Wisconsin companies.

As Milwaukee County executive, Walker also fought long-running battles with the County Board seeking to limit tax increases.

The state tax cuts have largely been made across the board, so that they help all taxpayers. That also means more savings for wealthy residents who pay a larger share of the tax levies.

There have been a few exceptions to the general trend of holding down taxes and fees, including increases in vehicle title fees and in University of Wisconsin System tuition before a freeze took effect. In addition, Walker has taken criticism for cutting two different tax credits for the working poor by $49 million in his first two-year budget.

This year, Walker signed a more than $400 million property tax cut that used the surplus projected at that time to lower taxes for owners of small and large properties alike.

Citing budget concerns, Burke said the state should put half of the surplus into boosting the rainy day fund and reducing the state's $2 billion in new borrowing. She says she would have put the remaining money into a state property tax credit for parcels with a home or business on them.

That would have ensured bigger tax cuts for middle-class homeowners than under Walker's plan. But Republicans say the so-called first dollar tax credit would do nothing for owners of undeveloped land.

Burke said Walker has focused too much on businesses and high-income taxpayers.

"Families who really need tax relief aren't feeling the impacts of Walker's trickle-down approach," she said.

Walker campaign spokeswoman Alleigh Marré dismissed that, saying that for 2013 and 2014 the Republican income tax cuts will end up saving $403 for a family of four making $81,600 a year. The property tax cuts passed last spring also will leave the December taxes on the typical home more than $100 lower than they otherwise would have been.

"Maybe letting hardworking taxpayers keep thousands of dollars of their own money is small potatoes to millionaire Mary Burke, but middle-class families in Wisconsin are benefiting from Gov. Walker's tax reforms," Marré said.

Burke's history

Burke served as commerce secretary under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle from 2005 to 2007. During those years, Doyle and lawmakers voted to eliminate state taxes on Social Security income for seniors and raised the cigarette tax by $1 per pack.

Since 2012, Burke has served on the Madison School Board.

■ In June 2012, Burke voted for a preliminary school budget with a 5% increase to the property levy at a time when the school district's enrollment rose by 3%. Then in October of that year she voted for the final budget, which reduced the tax increase to 1.8% but effectively raised the levy by the maximum allowed under state-imposed limits.

■ In August 2013, she voted against a preliminary budget with a 4.5% increase to the property levy. In November 2013, Burke again opposed the final budget, which had a 2.5% increase in enrollment and a tax increase of 3.4%, less than state law allowed.

■ In June, Burke voted against a preliminary budget with a 0.9% increase in enrollment and a 2% tax increase — less than allowed under state law. The final budget hasn't come up yet for a vote.

Joe Fadness, executive director of the state GOP, said Burke's "true colors were revealed" when she voted for tax increases in 2012 and then opposed others in the summer of 2013 as she considered challenging Walker.

Burke said politics played no part in those decisions. She voted for the 2012 tax increase because of cuts in state aid to school districts made by Walker and GOP lawmakers, she said.

"You use the levy to be able to balance your budget. It's something you do control.... The increase in spending (in the 2012 budget) was very reasonable," Burke said.

The increase in spending in that 2012 budget supported by Burke was 4.3%, PolitiFact Wisconsin found.

Their goals for future

Going forward, Walker wants to cut income taxes further but is ruling out increasing the sales tax to do that — one of several ideas he floated in December.

"I will seek to lower the income tax burden on working families and retirees. And I will not raise the sales tax," he said.

Cutting tax rates will be challenging in the next two-year budget starting in July 2015 that already has a projected shortfall that could grow worse if state tax collections continue to lag projections.

Burke made no guarantees, saying her goal was to "lower taxes and ensure we are competitive with our neighbors and the nation."

Road fund

On the state's road fund, both candidates conspicuously avoided any pledges against new taxes or fees. The transportation fund is saddled with massive projects like the $1.7 billion reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee — the busiest in the state — at a time when more fuel-efficient cars and a changing culture are holding down gas tax receipts.

Both candidates left themselves some leeway to address the looming shortfall in the fund.

Walker said he's looking for a viable way to replace the lost gas tax revenue but won't use it to drive up the state's overall taxes.

"There has to be some alternative. But our budgets, our plans going forward is every year we're in office, just like it has been in the last three years, the overall tax burden in the state will go down," Walker said.

Burke said that "all options" for balancing the fund were on the table, including tough solutions like scaling down projects or raising more money.

Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this article.