Declare the Pennies On Your Eyes

Things are heating up over Wisconsin’s biennial budget due to one sticking point: taxes. A Republican congressman wants a flat tax, while Gov. Evers wants targeted tax cuts. So what’s the difference? Who benefits? 

 

Here’s Five Fast Facts on Wisconsin Tax Plans:

  1. 🧾 Flat - The flat tax, proposed by the Senate Majority Leader, would be 3.25% for ALL Wisconsin residents and be in place by 2026. In other words, everyone pays the same percentage, regardless of income. Anyone making over $1M would get a tax cut more than six times larger than anyone else. So basically 138,000 households.
  2. 🇺🇸🙂✂️ - Evers’ plan provides a 10% state income tax cut for the middle class. Individuals making less than $100,000 and married couples or joint filers making equal to or less than $150,000 would benefit. Anyone making over $1M will see their taxes raised 20 times larger.
  3. ⛰️ Piling Up - The flat tax plan relies on that $7.1B surplus the state has been sitting on. It also decreases income tax collection by more than $2.B in 2024 and more than $5B in 2027 onwards.
  4. 📈 Upward - But hang on: Evers’ plan increases state tax revenue by $257M over the next two year. So that means MORE of a surplus. However, expenditures on refundable income tax to individuals and businesses making more than $300 would also be increased, supposedly offsetting those higher taxes.
  5. 🤷 Nope - Neither plan will pass. Evers will veto the flat tax and congress won’t approve Evers’ pitch. And once again, average folk are left with nothing. 

🔥Bottom line: We’ve been in a state of legislative gridlock for a while now and it doesn’t look like it will be ending anytime soon. The most important takeaway here is that something needs to be done.

Which plan do you support? Which one is better for Wisconsin?

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