Fiedler Foods, Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Revenue

{dissenting). A statute should be construed to give effect to its leading idea. State v. *729Okray Produce Co., Inc., 132 Wis. 2d 145, 150, 389 N.W.2d 825, 827 (Ct. App. 1986). The legislature in enacting the sales tax law intended only to tax sales at retail. The department’s construction of the applicable statutes results in imposing an unfair and unintended tax on the sale of a small town business. An agency construction which is contrary to the legislative intent is per se unreasonable. We owe no deference to such a construction. See State ex rel. Staples v. DHSS, 136 Wis. 2d 487, 497, 402…