MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Wisconsin Assembly voting on Republican income tax cut bill (all times local):
4:25 p.m.
Republicans are inching closer to sending their middle-class tax cut plan to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The state Assembly passed the bill 61-33 on Tuesday. It now goes to the state Senate, which is expected to take it up Wednesday. Approval would send the bill to Evers’ desk, where it appears destined to die.
Evers has said he can’t support the bill because it relies on a budget surplus to backfill lost revenue resulting from the cuts. He hasn’t said outright that he’d veto it, but he said Tuesday that he can’t understand why the GOP would tap reserves to pay for the tax cut.
Evers has proposed his own tax cut plan. Half of it would be funded by capping tax credits on manufacturers. He hasn’t said how he would fund the rest but on Wednesday said the proposal should be debated as part of the 2019-21 state budget.
Republicans have balked at the thought of capping tax breaks for manufacturers, saying there’s no need to raise taxes on them in light of the surplus.
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1:03 p.m.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says he “can’t understand” why Republicans would tap state reserves to pay for a middle class tax cut, but he’s stopping short of promising to veto their proposal.
The Assembly was voting on the Republican bill Tuesday with the Senate expected to give final approval on Wednesday.
Evers wants to pay for a middle class tax cut by all-but eliminating a manufacturing tax credit program. Republicans oppose that and instead want to use budget reserves.
Evers tells reporters he remains hopeful that a compromise can be reached but “we believe our proposal is the best one.”
Evers wouldn’t comment on a veto, but says “I can’t understand how we can possibly use up all the surplus for this and then ignore the rest of the budget.”
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8 a.m.
Wisconsin Republicans are moving closer to passing their tax cut plan on to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The Assembly is set to vote on the proposal Tuesday afternoon. Approval would send the legislation to the Senate, which is scheduled to convene Wednesday. But the plan looks doomed.
The bill calls for tapping a budget surplus to pay for a $340 million annual tax cut for middle- and low-income single and joint filers. Evers has signaled he won’t sign a bill that backfills the lost revenue with the surplus.
He has revealed his own plan that calls for cutting taxes by about $415 million per year. The governor would cap a Republican-authored manufacturing tax credit to pay for half of the cut. He hasn’t said how he’d fund the other half.
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