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The IRS wants you to take a paycheck checkup

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Officials with the IRS are calling on taxpayers to make sure they’re withholding the right amount of money from their paychecks.

IRS spokesman Christopher Miller says the paycheck checkup is easy to use, all you need is some basic information from your paystub.

“It’ll ask you for your earnings for the year, whether or not you tax tax credits, whether or not you have dependants. Things like that.”

Miller says taking that checkup now rather than later is a good idea. “Doing a paycheck checkup now will help taxpayers avoid a potential unwelcome surprise at tax time.”

Recent changes to the tax laws might have changed which tax bracket you’re in, what sort of credits you qualify for, and how much money you’re going to owe. And that all depends on how much you make and what sort of life situation you’re in.

You might also be paying too much to the government. “If people have a really large refund that’s expected, they may want to change their withholding to keep that money in their paycheck,” says Miller.

You can find the checkup online at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator.

Kooyenga to finally pay settlement fine

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A state representative on the hook for a settlement after illegally removing a protest sign from the Capitol will finally be paying that fine.

A report from the Journal Sentinel on Friday stated that Brookfield Republican Dale Kooyenga still hadn’t reimbursed the $30,000 settlement three months after the fact.

About a half hour later, Kooyenga’s office announced he’d be paying for the fine from his own accounts, and not his campaign funds.

The state settled a lawsuit after Kooyenga removed a sign critical of Donald Trump and Republicans from a public area of the Capitol in May of 2017.

Speaker Ryan speaks out against tariff increases

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House Speaker Paul Ryan is joining the group of Wisconsin Republicans coming out against increased tariffs.

At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Ryan says he considers tariffs the same way he considers taxes. “With taxes, like tariffs, some companies go overseas in order to penetrate foreign markets. That’s why we want to lower those barriers.”

Ryan points to the work Republicans made on tax reform to illustrate the reasons he’s trying to convince American companies to keep production domestic.

“There are unfair trading practices, no two ways about it, used by other countries. I think it’s in our interests to to use other tools to go after those unfair trading practices, but I think there are better tools than tariff increases.”


The statements come after Milwaukee-based Harley Davidson announced it was moving more of its production overseas to help beat import tariffs put in place in retaliation for Trump Administration tariffs imposed on the European Union.

 

Joint Finance Committee votes in favor of I-94 spending

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State Republicans will be spending federal road grants to complete repairs on I-94 near Milwaukee.

A vote in the state’s joint finance committee on Thursday will send around $22 million in grants to fund the I-94 expansion project.

Assembly minority leader Katrina Shankland says those funds would be better used elsewhere in the state. “Potholes are not economic development. This is not a real solution. Giving more money to one part of the state will not help the rest of the state’s local roads.”

Democrats had proposed adding the funds Governor Walker wanted for the project to a statewide fund to repair roads.  

Republican senator Alberta Darling says this funding benefits the entire state. “This is not a Foxconn road, this is I-94 North South. And as long as I’ve been around in Wisconsin that road is the entrance from Illinois into the state of Wisconsin.”

Under the plan, $22 million will be spent to refund the construction project, now slated for completion in 2021. The rest of the funds will be spent to replace bridges across Wisconsin and for the state’s highway resurfacing projects.

Senator Johnson seeks Congressional oversight for tariffs

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Senator Ron Johnson is joining a bipartisan effort to try and return control of trade tariffs to Congress.

The bill is sponsored by Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, and would allow Congress to review all tariff agreements made over the past two years.

“For too long Congress has ceded important policymaking authority to the executive branch on a wide range of issues,” Sen. Johnson said. “It’s time for Congress to reclaim its constitutional authorities on tariffs to ensure we don’t undermine the significant economic progress we have made over the last 18 months.”

The move comes days after President Trump called for blanket tariffs against Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

Johnson says these tariffs can push up the overall price of raw materials for American manufacturers. “That makes us less competitive in global markets and that exacerbates the trade deficit, if that’s the metric that President Trump is trying to address.”

“The opening salvos have been fired in what could be a more damaging trade war,” said Johnson. “I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t think anyone wins a trade war. We may lose less than other nations because we do have the world’s largest trade deficit.”

That review process would take 60 days, and would include a debate and a vote on the floors of Congress.

MPS to cut admin, not teachers to balance budget

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More money will be going to teachers in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Public Schools Board has approved a budget that returns $11.6 million to teachers and classrooms. That funding cut had been proposed earlier this year by former superintendent Darienne Driver who was trying to find savings to patch an estimated 30 million dollar deficit.

Acting superintendent Keith Posley says there will be no cuts in the classroom even, even though it spends slightly less than last year. Posley says there will be cuts in administration. “I want them to know that we put children first.”

The district will instead lay off 32 administrative employees in order not to fire any teachers. Posley says the cuts are part of a massive reorganization of the district’s central office. “We’re on the right road, headed in the right direction, but we need to make growth and make growth fast.”

Milwaukee public schools expect to deal with declining enrollment and large budget deficits for years to come.

Sign up now for child tax rebate

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Wisconsin parents can start signing up for a special 100 dollar per child tax rebate.

Revenue Secretary Richard Chandler says the special rebate is open to all parents who had dependents on their 2017 taxes. The rebate is technically a rebate on the the state sales tax. “We assume any parent of a child will have paid at least $100 in sales tax.”

Chandler says they’ve got a special website devoted to signing up, at ChildTaxRebate.wi.gov. “There’s a very simple form for people to fill out and that gets the rebate on its way.” The form is there to verify that your child is both a resident of Wisconsin and a US Citizen.

“You just need your Social Security number, your spouse’s Social Security number if you’re married, and for the child you just need their name, their Social Security number, date of birth,” says Chandler. That rebate will be sent to you by either direct deposit or a physical check to your address.

You’ll have to sign up before July 2 to qualify.

Correction: The original version of this story said the deadline was June 2nd.

Chinese tariffs concern Wisconsin ginseng growers

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A new 15 percent Chinese tariff on American grown ginseng has Wisconsin farmers nervous about their harvests this year. Those tariffs are likely in response to new American tariffs on Chinese aluminum and steel. China has also placed tariffs on other agriculture commodities including fruits, vegetables, nuts and wine.

Around one-third of Wisconsin ginseng is exported to mainland China each year, according to Hsu’s Ginseng vice president Will Hsu. “If you include Taiwan and Hong Kong, that number goes up to around two-thirds or even three-quarters.”

Hsu says one difficulty for ginseng farmers is that they can’t really plan for tariffs or other policy changes. “We planted these crops three or four years ago, so in 2018, we’ll be harvesting crops that were planted in 2014 or 2015.” That lag in harvest time has long been a hallmark of growing ginseng, making the crop very susceptible to poor weather or other short-term changes in economic outlooks.

There’s also a lack of price control for ginseng. “We don’t have futures and forwards markets that are exchange traded,” says Hsu, “so it’s very difficult to control price volatility or hedge without having some of the more sophisticated tools that other crops and commodities have.”

As prices increase on Wisconsin and American ginseng, Hsu says consumers in China might turn to sources from Canada or China itself. “Even though the quality may not be as good and may not be as in demand as Wisconsin ginseng, consumers end up choosing often times based on price, not only quality.”

Hsu says the full effect of these tariffs isn’t likely to be known until harvest time this fall.

Walker releases list of proposed ‘Economic Opportunity Zones’

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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has released a list of recommended “Economic Opportunity Zones” in the state. The Republican governor said the 120 zones, located in urban, rural and tribal areas could serve to encourage economic development under provisions of the new federal tax law.

The Economic Opportunity Zones Program is a federal community development tax incentive program which creates an incentive for businesses and community members to invest. The list of recommended zones, located in 44 counties across the state, has been forwarded to the U.S. Department of Treasury for consideration.

Senate passes bill to close Lincoln Hills

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The Wisconsin state Senate has passed passed a juvenile corrections reform bill. The $80 million plan approved on Tuesday is essentially the same as a measure that unanimously passed the Assembly last month.

There was no debate before a Senate vote that was also unanimous, on a substitute amendment that would close the Lincoln Hills youth prison by January 1, 2021.

The troubled prison in northern Wisconsin would be replaced by Department of Corrections facilities for the most serious young offenders, and several county-run facilities for less serious offenders.

The Assembly is expected to meet on Thursday and concur in some minor changes.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate voted to approve a less costly version of Governor Scott Walker’s sales tax holiday. It would provide $11 to $12 million for a sales tax break on clothing and school supplies, much less than the $50 million the governor had wanted.

That costlier plan, along with a $100 per child tax credit that Walker had also wanted, passed the Assembly last month. That chamber would have to concur with the Senate version.

“Governor Walker thanks the Senate for passing juvenile justice reform and our $100 per child tax rebate and sales tax holiday with bipartisan support. These aren’t Republican or Democrat issues. These are Wisconsin issues,” a Walker spokeswoman said.