2/20/2015

Capitol Update

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Department of Revenue: Refund Interceptions

Each year, people owe money to the state. Examples include unpaid parking tickets, unpaid child support, and/or unpaid federal taxes. When that happens, the Department of Revenue will intercept your tax refund and apply it to any outstanding balance owed.


The Department of Revenue is authorized to intercept any state refund and refundable credit to pay debts owed to other government agencies. In total, the Department of Revenue has collected $87.6 million in refunds.
 

There are 1,068 government agencies that are active participants. Some examples of partners and types of debts that are included are: municipalities, which include delinquent parking tickets and municipal fines; counties, which include delinquent child support costs and county court fees; state agencies, which include DNR (Department of Natural Resources) forfeitures and overpayments of employment; the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), which includes delinquent federal taxes; and other partnering states, which include delinquent child support for children in other states.


The following chart shows the number (in millions) of refunds in state agencies, counties & municipalities, IRS (Internal Revenue Service), federal and other, for the past 5 fiscal years.

 

Tax Refund Intercept (TRIP) Collections

 

*Source: Department of Revenue

 

 

In the District

 

Tours with Lieutenant Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch
Last Friday, I had the opportunity to travel with Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Representative Travis Tranel to a number of different local businesses within Grant County. We were able to tour the Emmi-Roth Cheese Plant in Platteville, 1Up USA in Dickeyville and the New Potosi Brewery in Potosi.

 

 


*Pictured are: Dave & Lois Fritz, Representative Travis Tranel, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, myself, and Sue & Bruce Fritz in the New Potosi Brewery in Potosi

 

Helpful Information

 

Department of Corrections Incarceration Rates in the Midwest
The Department of Corrections has a nearly $1.3 billion budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year. They provide over 10,000 jobs, with two facilities that are located within the 17th Senate District: Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel and New Lisbon Correctional Institution in New Lisbon.


As I begin to analyze the Department of Corrections budget request for the next biennium, I was interested to find out how Wisconsin’s incarceration rate compares to other states in the Midwest. The table below identifies the prison population, total state population, and incarceration rate for Midwestern states in 2013.

 

2013 Midwest States Incarceration Rates

 
 

Number of

Prisoners

Total

Population

Incarceration Rate

(Per 100,000 residents)

Nationwide 1,574,741 316,128,839 498
Illinois 48,653 12,882,135 378
Indiana 29,913 6,570,902 455
Iowa 8,697 3,090,416 281
Kansas 9,763 2,893,957 337
Michigan 43,759 9,895,622 442
Minnesota 10,289 5,420,380 190
Missouri 31,537 6,044,171 522
Nebraska 5,026 1,868,516 269
North Dakota 1,513 723,393 209
Ohio 51,729 11,570,808 447
South Dakota 3,651 844,877 432
Wisconsin 22,471 5,742,713 391

*Source: US Census Bureau and the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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State Capitol - Room 8 South - Post Office Box 7882 - Madison, Wisconsin 53707 - Phone: (608) 266-0703

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