Last week, Senate President Chris Kapenga called for the elimination of the income tax during an interview on WISN Radio’s The Vicki McKenna Show, adding to the momentum that IRG’s proposal to eliminate the income tax has gained across the state. Below are key quotes from the interview.
Senate President Chris Kapenga
Senate District 33 (R-Delafield)
“If we really want to set ourselves apart and step-up… we’re not going to have an income tax. Now, that doesn’t mean there are no taxes in the state, it just means it will, number one, force us to spend less, so we’ll have to be operationally efficient…”
“If we’re going to … do something bold, and we really want to attract more workers to the state and bring more families to this state. If we go to no income tax like Florida… that will set us apart in the Midwest because we’ve already got other flat tax states like Iowa. And is it really giving us the advantage? And I don’t think it will.”
Additional news and context:
- According to Matt Kittle, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu has called for a flat tax of 3.5% and Speaker Vos said “he’s not going to die on the flat tax hill.”
- Speaker Vos has stated that he wants the tax cut this year to be “significantly higher” than what was enacted in the last state budget. That tax cut was $3.4 billion.
- This week, IRG Executive Vice President Chris Reader penned an op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel outlining why Republicans and Democrats should rally behind eliminating the income tax in the new legislative session.
- IRG’s tax plan suggests eliminating the state income tax, but raising the state sales tax by 3% while keeping all current exemptions, which include everyday items like groceries, rent, medical expenses, and childcare. That plan, according to UW-Madison economists, would save $3.5 billion, or $1,700 per household, and would equal a 9.4% increase in after-tax income. Learn more here.