The Wisconsin State Senate’s Republican leader has released his flat tax plan. Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), who says his goal is to “give everybody a tax cut” using a portion of the state’s projected $6.6 billion budget surplus, released the plan Friday.
“This proposal will fundamentally transform Wisconsin’s individual income tax and keep more money in the pockets of hardworking Wisconsinites,” LeMahieu said in a press release.
The flat tax proposal would cost upwards to $5 billion.
I asked @SenatorDevin how he plans to make up the loss in revenue.
“It may look a little daunting in yrs 3 & 4…but when other states have done this sales tax revenue&other revenues go up. It changes ppls spending habits.” https://t.co/TZZaMS0Elc pic.twitter.com/GwjZ4T1UQD— Emilee Fannon (@Emilee_Fannon) January 13, 2023
It would phase in a flat tax of 3.25% over the next three years. That idea appears widely supported by Republicans in the state Senate and Assembly, but it’s a non-starter with Democratic Governor Tony Evers, who has his own plans for the surplus. Evers has said he’d probably veto any flat tax plan.
When we deliver tax relief, it should be targeted to the middle class to give working families a little breathing room—not to give big breaks to millionaires and billionaires who don’t need the extra help to afford rising costs.
That’s just common sense.
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) January 13, 2023
Wisconsin’s current progressive income tax has four brackets, ranging from 3.54% up to 7.65% for incomes of $267,000 and up. Flat tax critics contend it mainly benefits those with higher incomes.