State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, unveiled plans to reform two kinds of taxation in Wisconsin Monday, setting his sights on repealing sales taxes for over-the-counter medicine and holding state corporations to their fair share of taxes.

The legislative actions would rid the five percent sales tax on all OTC medicines, like non-prescription pain killers or cold and flu medicines, and would block state corporations from shuttling profits to other states which have lighter taxation policies.

"I think this points to the fundamental lack of fairness in the tax system, where we have large corporate tax breaks while we tax senior citizens on their arthritis medicine or a mother who goes to get cough medicine for her child," Black said.

Though prescription drugs are not subject to sales tax in the state, Black said taxing on OTC medicine costs consumers an additional $27 million each year.

Black also noted most other states do not allow taxation on non-prescription medicines, adding Wisconsin's sales tax applied to OTC drugs creates a "burden on working families and senior citizens."

"I don't believe that we should tax on necessities of life, like food or rent or medicine," Black said. "This issue is continually becoming bigger, as more medicine is becoming over-the-counter."

The other legislation, which concerns the legal evasion of taxes by corporations, would relieve residents in Wisconsin from some of the tax brunt by holding big businesses accountable for their share of taxes.

"Also, this will mean there will be more revenue to fund important state operations, like the university system," Black said. "If these corporations don't pay their fair share, students have to pay more for tuition to make [up] for that lost revenue."

The legislation would close what is called the "Las Vegas loophole," which Black called an "accounting trick," that he said dramatically reduces the amount of money paid in corporate income taxes in the state.

"Under this loophole, corporations can set up a shell, or paper corporation in a state that doesn't have corporate income tax, which is usually Nevada, and they shift profits there," Black said. "This reduces corporate income tax collections in Wisconsin by more than $250 million each year, according to the Department of Revenue."

Black said he is sure there will be resistance to the legislation among corporate lobbyists, but also added he feels persistence in fighting unjust taxation is needed in the state.

The Department of Revenue would not comment on the bill because of its novelty in the state.