MADISON, WI (WSAU) — Governor Tony Evers wants to give you back some of your tax dollars.
Just days after the State Department of Revenue announced an expected $2.9 billion budget surplus for the most recent biennium, Evers’ says he’d like to send every Wisconsin resident a check for $150 while also providing aid for childcare and caregivers and added funds for education. The package amounts to roughly $1.7 billion.
Under the plan, a typical family of four would see an extra $600. Evers says the money would come at just the right time when the cost for most goods is going up.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the last three years to provide hundreds of dollars in relief to Wisconsinites through withholding tax table changes and our tax cuts—including one of the largest income tax cuts in state history—but I also know folks are still being stretched thin due to everyday costs going up,” said Gov. Evers in a press release. “My plan puts even more money in people’s pockets to help make ends meet, bolsters our workforce by helping families with the costs of childcare and caregiving, and makes robust investments in our kids and our schools without raising property taxes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—Wisconsinites can’t wait for relief from rising prices. So, I hope the Legislature joins me in returning the projected revenue surplus to the taxpayers while supporting our workforce and providing additional relief to folks who need it most.”
According to a press release most residents would not have to take any action to receive the refund as the DOR would use information from tax returns to deliver the funds.
The plan would need approval from the State Assembly and Senate, but the reaction from Republicans in the hours that followed made it clear the chances of that are slim to none. “To quote Democrat leader Gordon Hintz in 2018, ‘This is an election year bribe,'” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu noted that the budget surplus is still a projection at this point, so spending it would be the same as counting your chickens before they are hatched, saying “Senate Republicans will not gamble with a projected state surplus to fund Tony Evers’ re-election gimmicks.”
Several others in the GOP called the plan a ploy to win re-election this fall, though Evers’ rejected that idea. Earlier this week Republicans discussed using the surplus to lower taxes for the next two-year budget. GOP leaders haven’t provided details of what that could look like, only saying the cuts would be “massive.”
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