A key member of Gov.-elect Scott Walker's transition team is floating an increase in Wisconsin's sales tax as a way to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

Former state budget director Rick Chandler says hiking the sales tax from 5 percent to 7 or 7.5 percent would allow the state to reduce income and property taxes, which rank among the highest in the nation.

"The idea here is to shift the burden to taxes that are less hated," Chandler told a Monday breakfast gathering hosted by the conservative-leaning Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

Chandler -- who emphasized he was speaking for himself and not Walker -- noted that Wisconsin has made some progress on the tax front over the past two decades.

Wisconsin has gone from the third-highest-taxed state in 1986 to 13th today, according to U.S. Census figures. That ranking is based on state and local tax burden measured against per capita income.