(The Center Square) – A new report indicates Wisconsin will have a surplus of $4.3 billion at the end of the fiscal year, more than the nearly $4 billion previously estimated.
The Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau updated the numbers ahead of Gov. Tony Evers’ scheduled Feb. 18 introduction of his biennial budget proposal.
The announcement led several Republican lawmakers to encourage Evers to lower taxes instead of spending the surplus.
“If he follows through with his previous budget bills, he would spend the $4 billion surplus and then increase spending and taxes for another $4 billion,” Assembly Committee on Ways and Means Chair Representative Jerry L. O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac. “Instead of giving you change on your purchase of government goods and services, the Governor informs you that he has a better use for your change. He has a better place to spend your money without asking you what you would do.”
O’Connor compared the surplus to a customer paying for an $18 item at a store with a $20 bill and expecting $2 in change.
“You receive change in every other area of money exchanges, but this is not true with your income taxes in Wisconsin,” O’Connor said.
The new report anticipates the state collecting $894.3 million in general fund tax collections over three fiscal years starting with the current year, above the $891.3 million projected in the November estimates.
“What happens to those excess dollars?” O’Connor said. “Ongoing expenses need to be adjusted for annual operating increases, so we need to cover that. Then, we consider prudent consideration of limited expansion or introduction of new spending needs agreed to by BOTH the Governor and the Legislature. The balance should be returned to you, the taxpayers.”
O’Connor added that the state should not give a one-time tax refund but instead reduce taxes permanently for Wisconsin residents.
