MADISON – Gov. Tony Evers signed a state budget on Thursday that looks vastly different from his original proposal. While the governor took credit for substantial tax relief and support of the business community, his initial budget did the exact opposite.
Gov. Evers’ original budget proposal increased taxes on businesses and individuals by over $1 billion, spent more than $91 billion over two years – an increase of 10% over the previous budget – and repealed critical reforms like Act 10, Right to Work and the Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit.
Thanks to changes made by the State Legislature, the final budget cuts taxes by over $3 billion, spends roughly $3 billion less than the governor initially proposed and kept in place the key policies mentioned above.
Gov. Evers also said on Thursday he would veto a bipartisan bill that would repeal Wisconsin’s personal property tax. His veto would leave in place a $200 million tax on small employers that regrettably saddles them with millions of dollars in additional compliance costs.
Following Gov. Evers’ budget signing, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) President & CEO Kurt Bauer released the following statement:
“While much of the budget includes common sense priorities and fiscally responsible spending, none of this would be possible without the prudent decisions made by the State Legislature over the past couple months to drastically modify what Gov. Evers initially proposed. Following the worst economic downturn in a century, we thank lawmakers for providing the substantial tax relief our state needs to bounce back.
“Unfortunately, Gov. Evers plans to veto a significant part of that tax relief, the repeal of Wisconsin’s outdated and costly personal property tax. As many Main Street businesses are struggling to recover from the pandemic and subsequent government restrictions, vetoing a $200 million tax cut will make it harder for small businesses to fully recover. We urge the governor to reverse course on this issue.”
