Governor Walker Calls Special Session, Ask Lawmakers to Pass Blueprint for Prosperity

MADISON, – January 24, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) –Governor Scott Walker today called a special session of the Wisconsin State Legislature for the purpose of providing over $500 million in property and income tax cuts for the hard-working taxpayers and significant investment in worker training programs.

“This additional revenue should be returned to taxpayers because it’s their money,” Governor Walker said. “When I travel the state, people don’t tell me that they want to keep sending more money to Madison. They don’t tell me that taxes are too low or even that taxes are just right.

Overwhelmingly, people across the state tell me that one of the best ways to fuel the economic recovery is to reduce their tax burden. I call on legislators of both parties to help me deliver this much-needed tax relief and our additional investment in worker training programs to the people of Wisconsin.”

Wisconsin built a $911 million surplus because of our bold reforms, a growing Wisconsin economy, and prudent fiscal management. Governor Walker wants to return a vast majority of this surplus to the hard-working taxpayers of Wisconsin.

Governor Walker’s Blueprint for Prosperity will:

Put more than $800 million back into the hands of the hard-working taxpayers all across the state through property and income tax cuts and withholding changes.
Reduce property taxes by over $406 million—more than four times larger than the property tax relief we passed last year, and it is vitally important to protect working families, senior citizens, farmers and small businesses. The typical homeowner will see a reduction of $101 dollars on their next property tax bill compared to the previous year.
Reduce income taxes by nearly $100 million—all of which would go into reducing the lowest income tax bracket from 4.4 percent to 4.0 percent. If you are a family making $40,000, your savings will be about $58. No one will get a bigger savings than that.
Reduce withholding tax for state income taxes by $322.6 million—this will let Wisconsinites keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. It will put more money in the hands of consumers and will continue to stimulate the economy. A typical family of four will see about $58 more in their paychecks each month. By the end of this year, that’s more than $520 dollars.
Put more than $100 million in the rainy day fund.
Increase the Wisconsin Fast Forward program by $35 million to focus on three new areas:
– Support for dual enrollment programs between school districts and technical colleges that target high demand jobs;
?- Investment in our technical colleges to eliminate waiting list in high demand fields like manufacturing, agriculture, and Information Technology; and
?- Support for programs helping people with disabilities enter the workforce.

Once passed, the total tax relief provided since Governor Walker took office will total roughly $2 billion.

“We are living in historic times here in Wisconsin,” Governor Walker continued. “The days of billion dollar budget deficits, double-digit tax increases and major job loss are over, and because we made the tough, but prudent, decisions over the last three years, we have led ourselves into a new era of financial responsibility and continued investment in Wisconsin’s priorities. There is more work left to be done, but our state now finds itself on much stronger footing than it did just three years ago.”

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