Assembly Approves GOP-Backed Income Tax Cut Proposal

The state Assembly voted Tuesday to advance a Republican-backed income tax cut, despite doubt over whether Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will sign it.

The Assembly voted 61-33 to approve the plan, with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats against.

The Republican bill would use money set to roll over from the current budget to fund a middle-class tax cut that would save the average taxpayer $170 a year, according to the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office. It would be effective January 2020.

Evers and Democratic lawmakers have pushed for a similar tax cut, also aimed at middle-income earners. The primary difference between the plans is how they are funded. Rather than using existing state funds, the Democrat-backed plan would be paid for in part by rolling back a tax credit for manufacturers.

That rollback would only pay for about 60 percent of the Democrats’ tax cut. The remaining funding is expected to be unveiled as part of the governor’s budget proposal later this month.

Evers has said he is unlikely to sign the Republican bill, but stopped short Tuesday morning of saying he would veto the measure. Instead, he said he was hopeful there would be room for compromise between the GOP and Democrat-backed plans.

“Of course, we’ll always look for common ground, but we believe our proposal is the best one,” Evers said.

Evers said he would prefer to have a conversation about a possible tax cut during the upcoming state budget negotiations, when other fiscal priorities could be taken into account.

“I can’t personally understand how we would use up the entire surplus for this, then essentially ignore the rest of the budget,” Evers said.

During Assembly debate on the GOP plan, Democratic lawmakers echoed that point.

“We’re here today because you didn’t want to wait for the governor’s budget introduction,” said Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh. “Decisions about taxes and spending should be taken into consideration together.”

Hintz called the Republican plan “Washington, D.C.-style budgeting, when you give away the farm in tax cuts and then say we don’t have the money to fund government.”

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers argued the GOP bill is helping Evers fulfill a campaign promise to cut taxes on middle-income earners.

“We took the framework Gov. Evers suggested during his campaign and married it with the surplus that’s been developed over the course of the past two years through good government and wise budgeting,” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

Vos said the GOP bill is a compromise, as many Republicans would rather have tax cuts for all income earners, rather than just middle-income earners.

Republican legislative leaders have decried Evers’ position on the bill, saying it goes against the governor’s previous statements about compromise and bipartisanship.

“The only thing we’re asking is that we fund (the tax cut) in a different way,” said Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, before debate. “If (Evers’) definition of bipartisanship is, ‘You take my plan and pass it exactly as it is,’ it’s going to be a long session.”

The state Senate is expected to take up the GOP bill Wednesday.