After Wisconsin residents identified taxes and the state budget as the biggest issues facing the state, controversy expanded Monday around Gov. Jim Doyle’s steps to bail Wisconsin out of a $527 million budget shortfall.

According to a survey released by the St. Norbert College Survey Center, 33 percent of Wisconsin residents see taxes and the state budget as the state’s biggest issue, and 21 percent see the economy and jobs as the most severe problem.

Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, sent a letter Monday to Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, imploring Huebsch not to yield to Senate Democrats’ desires to raise taxes to cover the budget shortfall.

“Raising taxes is not an option,” Huebsch spokesperson John Murray said. “We will trim state spending, but we will not look at segregated funds or raising taxes.”

Murray stressed this is not a partisan issue, however, as Nass had presented it, because any budget agreement will have to gain bipartisan support.

Doyle called a special legislative session to reach a compromise on the budget before the end of the fiscal year in three months.

Since February, the State Budget Office has succeeded in reducing the budget deficit, but the state of Wisconsin remains hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

“The administration has done what it can, and now Legislature must take some action,” State Budget Director David Schmiedicke said.

According to Schmiedicke, Doyle is looking at additional borrowing and transferring transportation funds to a general fund.

The state has already taken steps toward closing the budget gap through tax fairness and closing corporate tax loopholes, according to Carrie Lynch, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston.�

Prior to this year, several of Wisconsin’s corporations were able to use subsidiaries in Nevada to avoid paying Wisconsin taxes.

Wisconsin is required by its constitution to balance its budget annually. In the event the state government cannot neutralize the deficit within the subsequent year, it is likely that taxes will rise.

“We are having daily talks, ongoing negotiations with leading legislators,” said Doyle press secretary Jessica Erickson. “We’re trying to get this resolved as quickly as possible.”

However, Nass criticized a perceived lack of transparency during the governor’s negotiation process.

“As you continue to negotiate behind closed doors with the governor and Sen. Russ Decker, the people of Wisconsin continue to suffer from a declining national economy and $763 million in new state taxes and fees enacted in October 2007,” Nass said in his letter to Huebsch.

Decker and Huebsch’s offices agreed Nass’ accusation was inaccurate.

“We’re still just looking at all the possibilities of where this can go; (we’re) in constant contact with the Assembly,” Lynch said. “No one is trying to hide anything.”

Schmiedicke, Erickson and Lynch said the slowing national economy was the largest factor culpable for the state economy’s shortcomings.�