MADISON, Wis. (WRN) – At the Capitol on Wednesday the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted along party lines to tap the state’s $3.25 billion budget surplus for a $2.1 billion Republican package of income tax reductions and expanded tax breaks.
“We know that we can take these surpluses of taxpayer funds, make strong investments like we did in the last budget and a lot of their priorities, and we can return some of that money to them,” said Committee co-chair Representative Mark Born. “Hopefully the governor will recognize that this is a good compromise. We’ve respected some of the things that he identified as priorities.”
Republicans said they tailored the tax cut to provide relief to filers making less than $150,000 after Governor Tony Evers vetoed a tax cut out of the state budget, saying it was too beneficial to the wealthy. It’s unclear whether he’ll sign this package. Democrats on the committee warned it will cause budget shortfalls in the future.