Date: April 25, 2023
To: Members of the Wisconsin Senate Universities and Revenue Committee
From: Mattias Gugel, Director of State External Affairs at National Taxpayers Union
Re: Support Senate Bills 1 & 2
Businesses and taxpayers continue to reel from the aftermath of the pandemic and the effects of inflation. As a result, Wisconsin must pursue efforts to keep up with the reforms of other Midwestern states to maintain its reputation as a business-friendly state and keep family-supporting jobs for Wisconsin workers and families.
As the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy group, National Taxpayers Union is encouraged to see Wisconsin — at a time when it has a historic $7 billion surplus — prioritizing tax relief. Now is not the time to increase government spending or consider increasing local government levy limits to undo the excellent work being done by the state.
Senate Bill 1 — Moving Wisconsin toward a 3.25% flat tax
Competition between states has become increasingly common, and in recent years we have seen migration patterns of people moving away from high-tax states toward states with low or no income tax. This bill will make Wisconsin competitive going into the next decade with a rate that competes with the single tax rates in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois — and the new flat tax rates we’ll soon see in Iowa.
Notably, all Wisconsin taxpayers would win under this tax proposal. Every tax bracket sees a cut, which will help families who are struggling right now and help Wisconsin retain and attract workers who are so desperately needed.
Senate Bill 2 — Repeal of the personal property tax
Wisconsin’s current personal property tax has been the target of reform for several past sessions. Unfortunately, these efforts have created a patchwork of carve-outs determining who needs to comply with reporting this owed tax, depending on which industries have been most successful lobbying. As a voice for all taxpayers, National Taxpayers Union is encouraged that there may be the opportunity to pass a meaningful bipartisan repeal of this costly tax on the property of business owners.
Furthermore, SB 2 would help streamline tax collection and alleviate the red tape on business owners for assessment while ensuring the state doesn’t leave local governments with a budgetary hole.
NTU would like to commend the bill authors of the flat tax bill, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Representative Robert Brooks, the authors of the repeal of personal property tax, Senator Duey Stroebel and Representative Dan Knodl, and Senate Universities & Revenue Committee Chairman Rob Hutton for their pursuit of making Wisconsin friendlier to taxpayers. We hope their important work is successful.