As Governor Scott Walker prepares to deliver his annual State of the State Address later tonight, the top Republican in the state Assembly says his party is “united behind the idea” of having a projected surplus of nearly $1 billion go towards property and income tax relief.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says Republicans were briefed Tuesday on a Legislative Fiscal Bureau report released last week, which shows state tax collections for the biennium are projected to be over $911 million more than expected. The Rochester Republican says discussions among the GOP “showed no appetite for more spending. The only discussion was really focused on how do we get the money back in the hands of every day people all across Wisconsin in the most effective way, so we can have it keep circulating in the economy.”
Walker’s speech tonight is expected to include a proposal calling for lawmakers to pass additional tax cuts. Some Republicans have voiced concerns shared by Democrats that the money would be better spent paying down a structural deficit that’s projected for the next biennium. Vos says their goal is to make sure money in the state’s rainy day fund is able to “more than cover the first year of the structural deficit.”
