FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 23, 2021

Contact: Senator Robert Cowles: (608) 266-0484

Tax Accountability Dashboard Posted Online

MADISON– Senator Robert Cowles (R-Green Bay) released the following statement after the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) announced that the Tax Accountability Dashboard – created by 2021 Wisconsin Act 66 which was authored by Senator Cowles and Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem) – was published on DOR’s website: 

“Wisconsin has a strong tradition of accountability and transparency in state government, and recent changes have brought that into the modern era. The Tax Accountability Dashboard is the next step in this ongoing effort. Act 66 is geared towards ensuring residents have a better chance to see and understand where their tax dollars are being spent by creating an accessible, clear, and upfront series of data and graphics. 

“The website prepared and published by DOR, months in advance of the deadline we set by law, meets the requirements in Act 66 and exceeds my expectations. I encourage all Wisconsinites to visit the dashboard learn more about where their tax dollars are being used in Wisconsin State Government. I want to thank Secretary Barca and his team at DOR for their efforts to make the dashboard readily available.” 

2021 Wisconsin Act 66 required DOR to establish an online dashboard with charts and graphs showing the sources and expenditures of general purpose revenue (GPR) within about six months. While GPR includes a host of revenue sources, it’s primarily collected from individual income taxes, sales taxes, and corporate income and franchise taxes. Monies paid to the state government for specific purposes, such as a State Parks sticker, professional licensure, or vehicle registration, are generally kept in separate pots of money for their designated purpose and are not included on the dashboard. 

Wisconsin residents and other interested parties may view the new dashboard on DOR’s website. As required under Act 66, DOR has also included a link to the dashboard on its e-file Wisconsin webpage where residents go to file state income tax returns. This state dashboard is modeled off the Local Government Dashboard established under the 2017-19 State Budget which includes similar information for Wisconsin towns, villages, cities and counties. The local dashboard may also be viewed on DOR’s website.

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