(The Center Square) – Some of Wisconsin’s education and business groups are on the same page after the death of the state’s proposed $1.8 billion tax deal.
The National Federation for Independent Businesses in the state said lawmakers let a chance for meaningful tax reform slip out of their hands.
“To call this a major missed opportunity to deliver real, meaningful tax relief for Wisconsinites is an understatement,” NFIB Wisconsin State Director Luke Bacher said. “Putting politics ahead of taxpayers risks the well-being of Wisconsin’s economy and ability to compete with other states.”
The Wisconsin Assembly on Wednesday approved the plan that would have sent rebate checks to taxpayers. The tax deal would also have spent about $300 million to “buy down” local property taxes, and the plan would have ended taxes on tips and overtime in the state.
The package also included $300 million for special education funding. That is what school districts and school groups across the state wanted.
“This legislation represented a rare moment of bipartisan compromise in Madison and an opportunity to act on behalf of kids and taxpayers alike,” the Wisconsin Association of School Boards said in a statement Thursday. “This bill was not a cure-all. Although it promised levels of special education reimbursement not seen in decades, it would not have resolved the structural funding challenges that continue to push school districts toward referenda, program cuts and difficult choices. But it would have been a productive first step toward continuing conversations on both sides of the aisle for the betterment of students and taxpayers.”
The school board asked lawmakers to give it another try.
“In the coming days, there will be no shortage of finger-pointing and competing narratives about what happened. What will not change is the reality on the ground: Schools across Wisconsin will continue to struggle, and the families and taxpayers who support them will continue to carry that weight,” the Association added. “We call on the governor and legislature to return to the table, set aside political gamesmanship and find a path forward for Wisconsin’s students and the communities that support them.”
A second vote looks unlikely.
Not a single Democrat in the Wisconsin Senate voted for the plan, and three Republicans also voted against it.
