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Evers’ budget includes eight cent gas tax increase

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Governor Tony Evers WRN image

Governor Tony Evers answered the gas tax question on Thursday night. In his state budget address, the governor touched on a number of issues he’d already previewed, including K-12 schools funding and Medicaid expansion. But he wrapped up with transportation.

Ever said there will be fee increases. “And we do have to raise the gas tax. But as I promised all along, we’re sure as heck not going to raise the gas tax by a dollar.”
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Evers said the increase – eight cents a gallon – will be offset by eliminating the state’s “minimum markup” on gasoline. He said that means motorists would actually pay less at the pump than they do now.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz notes roads funding has been kicked down the road for too long. “What are the Republicans going to do? Because I’m hearing a lot of criticism but I’m not hearing any answers, and we didn’t hear any for eight years.”

Evers said his proposals will raise over $600 million in new revenues, and increase funding for local governments to repair their streets and roads.

Much of the Democratic governor’s budget agenda will be strongly opposed by Republicans who control both chambers of the legislature. “We have some of the best new revenue numbers ever in Wisconsin,” tweeted Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steinke. “Governor Evers wants to increase spending by more than $1000 for every man, woman and child in the state. That’s unacceptable & unaffordable.”

Legislators seek to end special sales tax for Miller Park

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A group of state legislators want to get rid of the Five County sales tax for Miller Park.

State Senator Van Wanggaard says the people of southeast Wisconsin have paid enough for upkeep at the stadium and he’d like to see it all ended by the end of the year.

“I’ve had so many constituents come to me and say ‘when is this going to be over?’ Well this bill that we’ve introduced that we’re putting forward will end that by December 31st of this year.”

Wanggaard says residents have paid out more than half a billion dollars in taxes since the tax went into effect 22 years ago.

Assembly passes GOP tax break bill

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Republicans in the state Assembly have passed a middle-class tax cut that’s at odds with Governor Tony Evers, who has his own tax cut plan.

The GOP bill uses a state surplus to fund a ten percent middle class tax cut. Evers plan, which he’ll introduce as part of his state budget proposal, uses some of that surplus, but also caps a manufacturing tax credit. Republicans call that a jobs killer.

“I can’t understand how we could possibly use up all of the surplus for this, and then ignore the rest of the budget,” Evers said Tuesday.

The Assembly passed the measure 61-33, with all Republicans for it and all Democrats against it.

Finance committee approves GOP middle-class tax cut

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A Republican-authored middle-class tax cut has passed the legislature’s finance committee. “We have a reasonable, simple plan, said Representative Mark Born, part of the Republican majority who advanced the plan over the objections of Democrats. “We’ve collected too much money, we’re going to give some it back.

The Republican bill pays for a tax cut out of a state surplus. Democratic Governor Tony Evers has a tax cut plan as well. He pay for it by capping a tax credit for manufacturers, something opposed by Republicans.

Thursday’s Joint Finance Committee vote was 10-3, with three members absent. Republicans amended AB-10 with an “emergency clause.”

“I think it would have been better suited for us to table this, take a look at his (Evers’) budget, and then decide if this was necessary,” said Senator LaTonya Johnson, a Milwaukee Democrat.

Joint Finance Committee co-chair, Republican Representative John Nygren, said numbers from the Legislative Fiscal Bureal reveal that Evers’ plan is tilted more towards higher income households than that from Republicans. “Somebody’s go to be spinning in their chair somewhere,” Nygren said.

AUDIO: Rep. John Nygren :34 

The Republican plan, which calls for tapping a budget surplus to pay for a $340 million annual tax cut that would net an average reduction of $170, now heads to the Assembly for a vote next week.

A spokesman for Evers called the GOP plan “fiscally irresponsible.” Evers will present his state budget proposal later this month.

Republicans signal possible plans to create toll roads in Wisconsin

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Toll roads might be the future of road funding for Wisconsin, according to state Republicans.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald broached the subject at a Wisconsin Counties Association meeting Wednesday.  Fitzgerald says tolling could be the only way to solve transportation infrastructure problems.

He says collecting tolls could generate billions of dollars to cover the costs and that raising the gas tax won’t create enough revenue.

State’s projected revenues are down

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Wisconsin tax collections are projected to come in lower than expected. That means Governor Tony Evers and state lawmakers will have less money to work with as they hash out the state budget over the coming months.

The Legislature’s non-partisan budget office announced Wednesday that projected new revenues through mid-2021 will about $1.8 billion. That’s $282-million less than was forecast in November. Evers is to introduce his budget proposal in late February.

Assembly Republicans propose middle class tax cut

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Speaker Robin Vos

Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature are pitching a middle class tax cut, one that puts them at odds with Democratic Governor Tony Evers.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Thursday that it will be paid for from the state budget surplus. “We actually have this huge surplus that’s been generated, and rather than allowing it to stay in Madison and be spent on growing government, we’d prefer to keep Tony Evers’ campaign promise and make sure that we have an opprtunity to do a middle class tax cut,” Vos said.

Vos and Assembly Republicans held a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. Other members of the Assembly GOP caucus held similar press conferences in Wausau, Green Bay and La Crosse. In Wausau, state Representative Pat Snyder said he
doesn’t think that using surplus funds will be an issue as long as business growth continues. “I want to keep that momentum going, and with that momentum going, we’ll see surpluses every year.”

Governor Tony Evers

Evers campaigned on a tax cut which he’d proivide by scaling back a tax break for farmers and manufacturers. “Why jeapordize what has brought us to this point of prosperity by undoing a tax cut that has brought us to today,” State Representative John Nygren said.

An Evers spokeswoman said the Republican plan falls short of what the governor has proposed.

The governor’s sustainable plan to cut taxes for middle-class families-which is funded by rolling back tax giveaways for millionaires-would provide relief for 86 percent of taxpayers without adding to the deficit or relying on one-time funds.
In contrast, Speaker Vos’ spending plan continues to grow. Between this unfunded proposal, their refusal to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid, and growing legal fees for outside counsel to defend their lame-duck laws, Republicans are willing to leave taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Under the Republican proposal, couples filing jointly and making between $60,000 and $70,000 would see the largest average decrease – $311.

Walker proposes two-thirds state funding for schools

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Walker

Locked in a tough reelection race with Democrat Tony Evers, Governor Scott Walker is out with a new campaign process – two-thirds state funding for K-12 education in the state.

“It’s not just about two-thirds, it’s about two-thirds combined with keep the (Act 10) reforms intact,” Walker said Monday. “Schools alone have have saved more than three billion dollars. That’s money that goes overwhelmingly into the classroom.”

Evers

That two-thirds commitment, first established by Governor Tommy Thompson, has not been met since the 2002-2003 school year. Over the weekend, Evers proposed a ten percent middle class tax cut – something the Walker campaign called “a gimmick.”

Walker is campaigning Monday with Thompson, who served as Health and Human Services Secretary in President George W. Bush’s administration. Evers is campaigning with Kathleen Sebelius, a former Governor of Kansas and HHS for President Barack Obama.

Congressman Duffy talks Wisconsin farmers, food stamp restrictions in Congress

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The House and Senate are figuring out how to pass the new Farm Bill, and Congressman Sean Duffy is touting the needs of Wisconsin farmers.

Duffy wants to ensure that Wisconsin farmers have access to fair assistance from Washington. 

“Making sure that we have a risk management program in place, that’s actually beneficial to our farmers. That we’re increasing coverage and we’re allowing some of our smaller farmers to purchase that coverage at improved prices, I think is important.”

Duffy is also advocating for proposed changes to the bill that would increase work requirements to get food assistance for able bodied adults without children. He wants to see the House’s proposed changes to the SNAP nutrition program become part of the final bill.

“We want to say if you’re an able-bodied adult, so you’re not a senior, you’re not a kid, you’re not having a mental or physical disability, and you don’t have little kids, you can’t sit at home and watch SportsCenter!”

The change would increase the number of adults subject to work requirements to receive food benefits, including those who are caring for school age children.

“If you’ve fallen on hard times, we’ve got a program that’s going to help you. If we have kids that can’t eat, we have a program that’s going to feed them. All we’re recognizing here is that in America we have help wanted signs in every community in every state.”

Duffy also thanked the House and Senate members that recently repaired the failed Dairy Margin Protection Program.  Wednesday’s conference committee meeting was all opening statements with no debate or negotiation of the differences between the House and Senate bills.

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.