by Benjamin Yount
The focus at the Wisconsin Capitol has, so far, been on sending more money to local governments across the state. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says that’s going to change.
Vos on Friday told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber that Republicans are working on a plan to use about $3 billion of Wisconsin’s record $7 billion surplus on tax cuts.
“My colleagues right now are working on a plan that we’ll announce probably after Memorial Day, which will focus on giving tax relief to everyone in Wisconsin who actually pays taxes,” Vos said. “If you work right now, you’re going to see a reduction in the amount of taxes that you pay. Plain and simple.”
Vos didn’t say just how much less people can expect to pay in taxes.
“[State] Senator Le Mahieu has been out there fishing very hard for a flat tax, which I support. That is the ultimate goal, so hopefully the system will be flatter,” Vos said. “I don’t think it’s likely we’ll get a flat tax, given where Governor Evers is. But that is certainly one of the goals we are striving for. And we’ll probably have some version of flattening in the income tax proposal that we bring forward.”
Le Mahieu, the Senate majority leader, has been pushing for months to lower Wisconsin’s progressive income tax to a flat 3.25 percent income tax. Evers has promised to veto any kind of flat tax.
The governor has called the flat tax “a tax cut for millionaires.”
Vos on Friday said the governor would rather raise taxes on most people in the state, and call it a tax cut for others.
“What the Democrats want to do is tax the people who are hard working, and reward those who, perhaps, aren’t working through a made-up tax cut,” Vos said. “That is not what our plan is going to be.”
As for the shared revenue plan that Evers threatened to veto on Thursday, Vos said Republicans in the Legislature are willing to make some changes, but he said they will not make the changes that the governor wants.
“We’re not going to break,” Vos said. “He’s not going to bully people into his position of saying we’re going to have a massive spending increase.”
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Robin Vos” by Wisconsin State Assembly. Background Photo “Wisconsin State Capitol” by Michael Howe. CC BY-SA 3.0.
