MADISON, WI – Governor Tony Evers has signed a proposal introduced by State Rep. Dave Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) that will improve an incentive to Wisconsin businesses to invest in workforce housing and childcare.
Assembly Bill 280, which is now Act 78, builds on legislation Representative Armstrong successfully shepherded to the Governor’s desk last session.
“Wisconsin is in desperate need of affordable housing and childcare, both of which are critical to our economy,” Representative Armstrong said. “People don’t want to work where they can’t afford to live and there’s no one to watch the kids. Last session, I introduced what became 2023 Act 143, which created an incentive for businesses to get some skin in the game by allowing them to claim the Business Development Tax Credit for up to 15% of their investments in workforce housing and childcare. However, after Act 143 took effect, I began to hear concerns from employers that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation was interpreting it more narrowly than I had intended, limiting the types of investments that could qualify.”
Act 78 clarifies that a business’s investment in workforce housing or establishing a childcare program need not necessarily be for the benefit of that business’s own employees in order to qualify for the credit. Instead, a business would be able to invest in workforce housing or childcare more generally. Similarly, AB 280 allows eligible expenditures to include not only capital expenditures made by a business itself, but also contributions a business makes to a third party for the purpose of building workforce housing or establishing a childcare program. This includes contributions made to a local revolving loan fund.
“As a legislator and as Barron County’s economic development director, my priority is to get more money into housing and childcare,” Representative Armstrong said. “Act 78 increases flexibility for businesses who want to help, but businesses that want to focus on childcare services for their own employees can still do so. They may also be eligible for federal tax benefits that were recently expanded in the Big Beautiful Bill. It’s a win-win for businesses and working families.”
