Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed a $2.2 billion GOP tax package, ripping it as a failure by Republican lawmakers to address the state’s most pressing issues.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, fired back the Dem guv had again rejected meaningful tax cuts for Wisconsinites.
“It is disappointing that Governor Evers continues to insist on leaving billions of dollars in Madison coffers rather than returning the surplus from where it came – taxpayers,” LeMahieu said.
Evers called the GOP tax cut plan fiscally irresponsible. The state has been projected to finish the current budget in mid-2025 with a $4 billion budget surplus. Still, Evers argued the $2.2 billion package would’ve jeopardized the state’s ability to provide spending increases in key programs to keep pace with inflation in 2025-27. He also said it could’ve forced the state to dip into the $1.8 billion rainy day fund.
The guv’s workforce package had a price tag of more than $1.3 billion.
“With each continued day of Republican delay and inaction, Wisconsin families, employers, and communities — especially in our rural areas — pay the price,” Evers said. “We need ongoing, sustainable state investments to stabilize our child care industry, increased support for working families and our higher education institutions, and new efforts to recruit, retain, and train a workforce that meets the needs of the 21st Century.”
Evers had submitted a workforce development package to the Legislature and called lawmakers into special session to address issues such as his call for state subsidies for child care providers. It also included a paid family and medical leave program, more state aid for the Universities of Wisconsin and other proposals he had included in his state budget only to see lawmakers reject them.
GOP leaders dismissed Evers’ proposal and instead sent back to him a package that included reducing the state’s third-highest tax bracket to 4.4% from 5.3% after the guv vetoed a similar move in the state budget. Other parts of the GOP plan included expanding tax breaks for child care costs and private school tuition, along with a host of proposed changes to the credentialing system overseen by the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said families are feeling the strain of inflation, and the average family would’ve saved $600 under the GOP plan, but “now they’re in for a struggle.”
“I’m disappointed but not surprised he’s pushing for more government spending, and it’s driving up inflation,” Vos said.
See the Evers release here.
