Republican lawmakers say a nearly $3 billion tax cut proposal will bring relief to middle class Wisconsinites, including retirees.
An Assembly bill introduced Tuesday would use the state’s surplus to cut income taxes for Wisconsin’s third tax bracket from 5.3 to 4.4 percent starting in tax year 2023. That affects individuals with $27,630 to $304,170 in annual taxable income or joint filers making between $36,840 to $405,550.
“The third bracket is a large bracket, but it’s clearly where the middle class of Wisconsin is,” said state Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, who co-chairs Wisconsin’s joint budget committee.
The new bill also would expand tax cuts for retirees who are at least 67 years old. It includes a tax exemption for retirement income up to $100,000 for individuals or up to $150,000 for joint married filers.
Wisconsin is projected to end the two-year budget cycle with a $4 billion surplus, and Republicans say much of that extra money should go to tax relief.
Thus far, the tax cut bill has at least one Republican senator as a co-sponsor — Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara of Appleton, who said she believes there’s “across the board” support for tax cuts in the state Senate.