Gov. Evers Announces New Plan to Cut Taxes, Help Working Families Afford Rising Costs, Reduce Barriers to Employment

Press Release

Gov. Tony Evers announced a new plan to provide support to working families and address rising costs due to national inflation. The governor's announcement today comes in anticipation of new revenue projections set to be released by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) in the coming days, which are expected to far exceed estimates from the beginning of the year, showing the state will end the fiscal year with more than $5 billion in state coffers, including having the highest-ever positive GAAP balance in state history of $1.2 billion for the 2021 fiscal year, and the state's "rainy day' fund at the highest level ever at $1.7 billion.

This year, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) projected the state would end the biennium with a $3.8 billion revenue surplus, nearly $2.9 billion more than was expected in June 2021.Gov. Evers' plan announced today, building on the plan he announced earlier this year, uses the state's historic projected surplus to cut taxes for working families, veterans, and seniors, reduce gas prices by repealing the minimum markup law, cap copays for insulin, and reduce barriers to filling jobs by making childcare more affordable and providing a Caregivers Tax Credit.

"Wisconsin families have been through a lot over the past few years, and we know that while our state and economy continue to recover, folks are still worried about rising costs and making ends meet," said Gov. Evers. "My plan to use our state's latest projected surplus builds on our work to cut taxes for working families by providing more than $600 million in tax relief while capping the copay cost of insulin, lowering prices at the pump, and helping defray the cost of childcare and caregiving to help reduce barriers to entering our workforce.

"Our state is in a strong fiscal position, and there is no reason these dollars should sit in state coffers when families need help now," Gov. Evers said. "We can help lower out-of-pocket costs for Wisconsinites today while providing long-term tax relief and still making sure we have readily available state resources to invest in our priorities in the next state budget."

In anticipation of new revenue projections from DOR in the coming days that are expected to exceed the already unprecedented projections, the governor is again renewing his call to use the state's $3.8 billion revenue surplus to provide a 10 percent tax cut for working families, restore the Homestead Tax Credit to help seniors on fixed incomes, expand property tax relief for veterans with disabilities, cut gas prices for Wisconsinites and cap the copay cost of insulin, and create a Caregiver Tax Credit, as well as expand the Child and Dependent Care Credit to help with the costs of caregiving and childcare.

In total, Gov. Evers' plan announced today provides over $600 million a year in tax relief now and into the future for Wisconsinites. As the strength of our additional tax collections for the 2021-22 fiscal year alone are expected to substantially exceed the annual tax relief under the governor's plan announced today, Gov. Evers' plan still leaves the prior anticipated excess balance for the biennium of $3.8 billion completely untouched, leaving readily available state resources to respond to pressing state needs in the next biennial budget as well.

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