Wallace Commission and Knowles Commission files, 1976-1977

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Wisconsin. Department of Local Affairs and Development. Office of Research and Policy Analysis

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Summary

Meeting minutes, memoranda and correspondence, and working papers of the Knowles Commission; and meeting minutes, public hearing transcripts and testimony, correspondence and press coverage, and th...

Meeting minutes, memoranda and correspondence, and working papers of the Knowles Commission; and meeting minutes, public hearing transcripts and testimony, correspondence and press coverage, and the final report of the Wallace Commission.

The Governor's Commission on State-Local Relations and Financing Policy was named the "Wallace Commission" because it was chaired by Harry L. Wallace. The commission was created by executive order on October 17, 1975 and was directed to evaluate the relationship between state and local government in Wisconsin and the system of providing and financing public services. The commission's report, published January 1977, made recommendations on education, health, and transportation services, organization of local government, state and local revenue sources, and local growth and development. The Wallace Commission found that the problems encountered by local governments relate substantially to changing technology, population patterns, environmental concerns, and local demands for governmental services and concluded that a flexible system for delivering services was necessary to respond to the problems.

The Governor's Blue Ribbon Tax Reform Commission was created by Executive Order 52, and was known as the "Knowles Commission" because it was chaired by State Senator Robert P. Knowles. It was staffed by the Dept. of Revenue's Research Division. The commission's mission was to carry out a complete reexamination of Wisconsin's personal and corporate income tax, sales tax, inheritance tax, and property tax, and to offer recommendations for improvements.

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