Foxconn Technology Group has reached a new deal with reduced tax breaks for its scaled back project in southeast Wisconsin.
Gov. Tony Evers and the world’s largest electronics manufacturer announced the new deal on Monday. Details of the new agreement were not immediately released.
It was scheduled to be approved at a Tuesday meeting of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the state’s top jobs agency that previously negotiated the initial deal with Foxconn.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu on Thursday closed the door to legalizing medical or recreational marijuana in Wisconsin in the foreseeable future, but said Republicans will seek to hold the line, or possibly cut taxes, during the upcoming state budget negotiations.
LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said Senate Republicans do not have the votes to pass any marijuana legislation on their own, driving a stake through another one of Gov. Tony Evers’ signature policy goals for the state budget process.
“We have some societal concerns,” LeMahieu said. “We don’t have support from the caucus. We don’t have 17 votes” — which would be a majority of the Senate where Republicans hold a 21-12 advantage.
LeMahieu said the discussion around medicinal marijuana needs to start at the federal level because the drug is still on the list of federally controlled substances. He said he’s not comfortable with Wisconsin becoming a “rogue state,” legalizing it beforehand without federal blessing. Seventeen states, including neighboring Michigan and Illinois, have legalized recreational marijuana.
LeMahieu said Republicans are still interested in holding the line on tax levels and potentially even cutting taxes, specifically through reductions in income tax or eliminating personal property taxes for small businesses.
Gov. Tony Evers signed off Wednesday on the Ho-Chunk Nation’s plans to open a casino and entertainment complex in Beloit, hailing the project as job creator that will help the region recover from the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of the Interior in April approved taking 32 acres just north of the Illinois border into trust for the purpose of developing the complex. Federal law gives governors the power to approve or reject off-reservation casinos.
The complex would include one of the largest casinos in the state as well as a 300-room hotel with more than 45,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, and a 40,000-square-foot indoor waterpark.
The Department of the Interior now must issue a final determination on taking the land into trust. Evers and the Ho-Chunk then must amend the tribe’s gaming compact with the state.
“As we work to bounce back from this pandemic, we must do everything we can to support economic development in communities across our state,” Evers said in a statement.
The Ho-Chunk already run three casinos in Wisconsin — one in Nekoosa, one in Baraboo and one in Black River Falls. The tribe’s gaming compact with the state allows it to operate a fourth. Plans for the Beloit facility have been in the works for more than 20 years.
Beloit voters approved the project in a 1999 referendum. The tribe purchased the land in 2009 and has been working to win federal and gubernatorial approval to build a casino there since 2012.
Wisconsin lawmakers have approved a bill to provide the state’s consumer advocate with funding to negotiate more favorable utility rates.
The bill, passed by the Senate Tuesday, would direct $900,000 a year from ratepayers of Wisconsin’s investor-owned utilities to the Customer Utility Board (CUB), an independent nonprofit organization established by the Legislature to represent utility customers. Funding would be administered by the Public Service Commission, which would have oversight of the organization’s budget.
“Wisconsin homeowners, renters and small businesses will now have an even more effective consumer advocate working on their behalf in the years ahead,” said CUB executive director Tom Content.
Content said the additional revenue will allow CUB to expand its staff and better represent ratepayer interests under a 2018 law that encourages utilities to negotiate rates with consumer advocates and other interested parties.
The new model is expected to cost customers of investor-owned utilities a little less than 2 cents a month. Content said that in the past 15 years CUB has saved ratepayers $3.6 billion, a return of $170 on the dollar.
The bill prohibits CUB from using that funding on lobbying or work on rates and practices of municipal utilities, though it would be eligible to receive up to $100,000 in additional funding from the PSC for other work, such as intervention in a water rate case.
The bill also streamlines some PSC regulatory procedures, including:
The bill, passed unanimously by the Senate and Assembly, now heads to Gov. Tony Evers, who previously endorsed the proposal and included most of the language in his biennial budget.
Strong February housing sales pushed what are typically the three slowest months of the year into record territory, according to the most recent analysis of the existing home market by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA). February 2021 sales increased 5.5% compared to February 2020, which was the last month before the recession began. Inventories continued to be very tight, which has led to a sustained period of very strong price appreciation. The median price rose to $215,000 in February, which is 13.2% higher than 12 months earlier. In fact, median prices have grown at an annual rate of 9.7% or higher each month since July of last year.
This is the strongest seller’s market on record, and it pushed prices up sharply in February,” said WRA President & CEO Michael Theo. The inventory problem shows no sign of abating. The state had just 2.1 months of available supply in February, which is the second straight month of record-low inventory levels. “Every price range of homes, every region of the state, and every type of county, from the most urban to the most rural, have very strong seller’s markets,” said Theo.
“One bright spot has been the new construction market,” said Theo. A review of Wisconsin single-family permit data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau shows an increase of 13.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, and housing permits were up 19% in January compared to 12 months earlier. The number of permits is a reliable predictor of housing starts. “Most buyers who build a new home are trading up from an existing home, so the strong seller’s market is helping to fuel the new home market,” said Theo. Since the average time from a housing start to completion is 7.4 months in the Midwest, the increased permit activity in 2020 should help mitigate the supply problem in 2021. “We still need to see more inventory of existing homes, but this is a good sign going into the peak sales season,” he said.
On Thursday, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) voted unanimously to allow utilities to move forward with disconnection of service for nonpayment at the end of the annual winter moratorium on disconnections on April 15, 2021. The move comes following a moratorium preventing utilities from disconnection for nonpayment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The PSC required utilities that seek to disconnect residential service to file disconnection plans with the Commission if they were planning to disconnect customers after April 15. 254 electric, natural gas, and water utilities submitted disconnection plans by February 15, 2021. Utilities
reported that an anticipated 93,263 residential customers and 4,810 non-residential customers would be subject to disconnection by April 2021. Utilities are required to offer a Down Payment Agreement (DPA) for customers who cannot pay an outstanding bill in full.
To avoid disconnection, customers who have fallen behind on payments are encouraged first to contact their utility to set up a payment plan. If customers are having difficulty paying their energy bills, they may be eligible for assistance from the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP). To apply on line go to energybenefit.wi.gov or to find out where to apply in person or by phone, go to http://homeenergyplus.wi.gov/ or call 1-866-HEATWIS.
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. The IRS will be providing formal guidance in the coming days.
Individual taxpayers can also postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This postponement applies to individual taxpayers, including individuals who pay self-employment tax. Penalties, interest and additions to tax will begin to accrue on any remaining unpaid balances as of May 17, 2021. Individual taxpayers will automatically avoid interest and penalties on the taxes paid by May 17.
Individual taxpayers do not need to file any forms or call the IRS to qualify for this automatic federal tax filing and payment relief. Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the May 17 deadline can request a filing extension until October 15 by filing Form 4868 through their tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov. Filing Form 4868 gives taxpayers until October 15 to file their 2020 tax return but does not grant an extension of time to pay taxes due. Taxpayers should pay their federal income tax due by May 17, 2021, to avoid interest and penalties.
This relief does not apply to estimated tax payments that are due on April 15, 2021. These payments are still due on April 15. Taxes must be paid as taxpayers earn or receive income during the year, either through withholding or estimated tax payments. In general, estimated tax payments are made quarterly to the IRS by people whose income isn’t subject to income tax withholding, including self-employment income, interest, dividends, alimony or rental income. Most taxpayers automatically have their taxes withheld from their paychecks and submitted to the IRS by their employer.
The federal tax filing deadline postponement to May 17, 2021, only applies to individual federal income returns and tax (including tax on self-employment income) payments otherwise due April 15, 2021, not state tax payments or deposits or payments of any other type of federal tax. Taxpayers also will need to file income tax returns in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. State filing and payment deadlines vary and are not always the same as the federal filing deadline. The IRS urges taxpayers to check with their state tax agencies for those details.
The House is set to vote on the measure late Wednesday morning, and then it will head to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. The Senate passed the bill in a 50-49 vote last week after making changes to the original version passed by the House.
Under the legislation, those making $80,000 or under and married couples making $160,000 or less will receive stimulus checks of up to $1,400 per person. The bill would also provide $1,400 per dependent. The bill would expand the annual child tax credit to $3,600 for children up to age 5 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17 years old. It would also extend $300 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits, which was set to run out over this coming weekend, until September 6, 2021.
In addition to direct payments and child tax credits, the bill would provide $14 billion for vaccine distribution, $49 billion for Covid-19 testing, contact tracing and personal protective equipment. It also includes $125 billion for K-12 schools and nearly $40 billion for high education. It would provide $39 billion in child care grants, $25 billion in rental assistance and $30 billion for public transit as well.
As eligibility for the COVID-19 widens to more groups in the coming weeks, the state’s top health official said employers will play an important role in helping their employees access the vaccine when the time comes.
Interim Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary Karen Timberlake said the role of employers varies, but could include allowing employees to take off work to get vaccinated, hosting on-site vaccine clinics or simply sharing information about vaccine safety with employees.
“We think you have a role to play,” Timberlake told GMC members. “And we do think that the most important thing you can be doing is helping your employees with access to good, fact-based, science-based information about vaccine efficacy and safety, vaccine availability, what the plan is for your workplace when your employees become eligible.”
“We know that employers are a very trusted messenger for their employees around these kinds of matters, so our job as a health department is to equip you with the facts you need,” she added.
Employers should consider how transportation challenges could prevent employees from accessing the vaccine and potentially partner with a local health department or health systems to ease those issues. With vaccine appointments generally being held during traditional work hours, Timberlake said employers should also consider allowing employees to get their shot on paid time.
The Wisconsin Legislature was scheduled to vote Tuesday on approving a half-billion dollar tax cut for businesses that received loans to help them keep employees on the payroll during the pandemic, one of several measures related to the coronavirus that are slated for consideration.
The bill cutting business taxes by $540 million by the middle of 2023 was up for a vote in both the Senate and Assembly. If passed, it would then go to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers who was non-committal last week about whether he would sign or veto the measure.