“The dam man didn’t pay his damn taxes”  — Scot Ross

MADISON, Wis. —  New investigative reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel exposes MAGA extremist Congressman Tom Tiffany’s business as a failure. Congressman Tiffany has been selling himself as a successful Northwoods small business owner but tax records show Tiffany and his businesses paid zero income taxes for years, making it all but certain he ran it into the ground.

“Congressman Tiffany campaigns on being a successful businessman but didn’t pay a dime in income taxes for years — clearly, he lied about his business record and can’t be trusted to properly manage the state budget,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Emily Stuckey. “Congressman Tiffany is no successful businessman — the only things he’s been good at are lies, damn lies and dirty D.C. politics.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tom Tiffany touts business success, but for years owed no taxes
By: Mary Spicuzza

  • U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is campaigning for Wisconsin governor as a successful small-business owner.
  • But Tiffany and his business went years without paying state income taxes, Department of Revenue records show.
  • Tiffany had zero net state liability – meaning he owed and paid no personal state income taxes – for the years 2006 through 2010, as well as 2019, the records show.
  • Tiffany’s Willow Inc., owed and paid no state income taxes for more than a decade through 2016 – then paid just $65 in in 2017, $308 in 2018 and $240 in 2019, the records show.
  • And his Wisconsin River Cruises Inc., owed and paid no state income taxes between 2007 and 2013, according to the records.
  • Tiffany lost elections for state Senate in 2004 and 2008. He was elected to the state Assembly in November 2010, amid a red wave that saw Republicans win the governorship and flip both chambers of the state Legislature. He was then elected to the state Senate in 2012.
  • Tiffany was elected to Congress in May 2020, taking over the seat formerly held by Sean Duffy. He was reelected in 2022 and 2024 by wide margins.
  • Tiffany paid just $681 in personal state income taxes in 2005, then paid no income taxes between 2006 and 2010, according to state Department of Revenue records.
  • In 2011, the year he took office in the state Assembly, he paid $2,212 in personal state income taxes, and between 2012 and 2018, he paid between $1,680 and $2,445.
  • Tiffany paid no state income taxes again in 2019, then has paid between $4,613 and $8,432 in net taxes per year since 2020, when he was first elected to Congress. Members of Congress typically make $174,000 per year.
  • Scot Ross, a Democratic analyst, criticized Tiffany for campaigning as a successful businessman.
  • “The dam man didn’t pay his damn taxes,” he said, referring to Tiffany’s TV ad slogan, “Time to send in the dam man.”
  • When Ross was executive director of the Madison-based One Wisconsin Now, the liberal group found Tiffany’s Willow Inc. had no tax obligations dating back to 2001.
  • “Either Tiffany schemed to avoid paying his taxes or he was lying when he said he was a successful business owner,” Ross said.
  • He noted that Tiffany’s business had no state tax liability under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
  • “Tiffany wants us to trust his economic judgment to run Wisconsin after he couldn’t earn a taxable profit for his businesses,” Ross said.