Average income taxes in Wisconsin to go down $3 a month under cut signed by Evers

Income taxes in Wisconsin will go down an average of $3 a month under the greatly reduced tax cut Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed into law after rejecting a much larger cut Republicans wanted, an analysis released Friday shows.

The average tax cut under the income tax cut as signed by Evers on Wednesday is $36, or just under 1 percent of the total net tax owed, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Under the GOP plan as passed by the Legislature, taxes would have been cut an average of $573 or just over 15 percent.

Evers and Democrats said the GOP tax cut benefited the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

Under the Republican plan, households earning between $60,000 and $70,000 a year — roughly the median in Wisconsin — would have seen a $249 tax cut. Under the law as signed by Evers, their cut will be $44.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he wants to override the veto, but that is highly unlikely to happen because Democrats in the Assembly would have to break ranks to vote with the GOP. Vos has also said Republicans may introduce another tax cut proposal later this year.

Evers vetoed a reduction in rates for individuals earning more than $27,630 and couples filing jointly who make more than $36,840. That left a tax cut only for taxable income up to those levels, or just $175 million out of the original $3.5 billion Republican plan over the next two years.

Those earning between $30,000 and $40,000 will see the largest percentage reduction of 3.4 percent, or $24 under the tax cut Evers signed. The roughly 7,600 people earning more than $1 million a year will have the smallest percentage cut, at less than 0.1 percent, worth just $2 a month, or $24.