Putting Kids First By Supporting In-Person Learning
Wisconsin Business Tax Cut
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Ron's Recap: February 18, 2021
This week was my first hearing as the Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. We heard testimony from expert witnesses regarding Assembly Bill 33, merit pay raises for state public defenders.
The past decade, Republican lead policies have resulted in budget surpluses, growing revenues, and economic opportunity for all Wisconsinites. As we continue to fight-COVID-19, we must commit to strong Republican policies to get our state back on track.
I am proud that Republican policies have successfully resulted in:
The lowest tax burden in 50 years
The largest rainy day fund in Wisconsin’s history
Cutting taxes by over $13 billion since 2011
A declining poverty rate
$500 per year savings per average Wisconsin family due to Republican income tax cuts
When it comes to taxes, Governor Evers believes the state should be setting the floor, not the ceiling. If we do not have limits in places on taxes, where does it stop? The government should spend within its means, just like the hardworking Wisconsin families and businesses.
I am disappointed that Governor Evers included the following in his budget:
Increases spending by 9.8% or $8.1 billion (all funds)
Increases taxes by $1 billion (general fund - not including energy tax)
Increases government jobs by 308.74 FTE (all funds)
Creates an estimated structural deficit of -$1.3386 billion by FY25
Takes the GAAP deficit from positive $1.5 million at the end of FY20 to a deficit of -$938.3 million
Putting Kids First By Supporting In-Person Learning
If you follow the science, doctors and health officials say the best place for students to learn is in the classroom and not on a zoom conference call. There have been too many negatives from shutting down schools across the country and students, including students in Wisconsin, have been suffering. Schools must open their doors for in-person education.
Members of the Republican-run Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) are putting kids first. Last week they made a $65 million dollar statement. The committee approved a plan that rewards and incentivizes in-person education by allocating federal dollars to schools that have students in the classroom through a formula that gives money to districts with the most hours of in-person instruction. I look forward to seeing this plan be put into action and hopefully, see more kids safely return to the classroom.
Wisconsin Business Tax Cut
In 2020, our businesses endured a lifetime of woes. Unless they were on Governor Evers' arbitrary essential list, they were forced to close for months. The idea that we would tax federal help to these damaged businesses is a mistake. Our businesses deserved federal help. We must allow them to keep the help that was offered.
That is why I proudly voted for a $500 million dollar tax cut for Wisconsin businesses who accepted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in order to remain open and keep people employed. This relief could mean the difference between staying open or closing down and will put them in a much stronger position as we begin to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
