News of the Day

Both existing home sales and median prices rose by double-digit margins in May compared to their levels 12 months earlier, when the economy was in lockdown. Housing supply remains very tight with just 2.8 months of available supply in the state. Inventory is tight in all regions, across all urban/rural classifications and across all price ranges

“Basic economics tells us that strong and growing demand in a world of tight supply is going to create significant price pressure, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in the state housing market. Median prices through the first five months are up at an annual pace of 12.1%. Unless demand moderates or supply improves, neither of which is likely in 2021, we can expect to see more of the same price appreciation through the end of this year. The good news is that mortgage rates remain very low by historical standards, which has at least partially offset the impact of significant price pressure on housing affordability in the state.  Hopefully the inflationary pressures don’t intensify, which could cause mortgage rates to increase and lower affordability,” said Michael Theo, President & CEO of the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

Taking advantage of an unexpected revenue windfall, Republicans on the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee voted Thursday to approve about $3.4 billion in income, business and property tax cuts, wrapping up its work on the two-year spending plan.

The Republican plan would bring the state’s third income tax bracket down from 6.27%  to 5.3%, generating about $2.7 billion in relief. That bracket encompasses individuals making between $23,930 and $263,480 per year, and households earning between $31,910 and $351,310 per year.

Some 84,000 Wisconsin businesses have been invited to apply for a $5,000 grant to be distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

Gov. Tony Evers authorized $420 million, through funding received by the American Rescue Plan Act, to be distributed to businesses that apply by 4:30 p.m. on June 7.

The businesses selected to be eligible for the grants had to have an annual gross revenue between $10,000 and $7 million.

Wisconsin Republicans want to end the $300-per-week federal unemployment supplement, which they said Tuesday hurts businesses that are struggling to fill vacancies as customers return amid a loosening of coronavirus restrictions.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is waiving the usual surcharge for the Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program (ACCP). Fertilizer and pesticide businesses normally pay this surcharge when renewing their license, and the resulting fund helps pay to clean up agrichemical spills.

DATCP waives the surcharge when the fund balance remains above $1.5 million, allowing fertilizer dealers, commercial pesticide applicators, and pesticide manufacturers to pass these savings on to their customers.

The surcharge holiday will extend through June 2022 for fertilizer sales, and through the 2021-22 license year for other licensees. The surcharge is based on the level of the ACCP fund on May 1 of each year, when DATCP is required to review the program funds and decide whether to continue the surcharge holiday.

For more information about the ACCP fund and surcharges, visit https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ACCPFundSurcharges.aspx.

Tens of thousands of people in Wisconsin whose applications for COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits were denied could be eligible for up to 79 weeks of unemployment payments.

There are three main categories of newly eligible workers:

• Those who declined to return to work at a site that wasn’t complying with COVID-19 safety standards, such as requiring face masks and physical distancing.
• Those working for an educational institution who became unemployed or partially unemployed after COVID-19 scrambled workers’ schedules.
• Those who were laid off or had their hours reduced as a result of COVID-19 measures, including restaurant workers.

Officials with the state Department of Workforce Development said they would be mailing notices to nearly 28,000 people who were denied benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to let them know they are eligible to reapply under the expanded guidelines. If they were denied before but found to be eligible now, they could be paid for the entire period of the pandemic thus far.

The Biden administration announced expanded eligibility for the federal program in February after President Joe Biden in an executive order said workers whose employers didn’t follow safety protocols could get the benefits. The Wednesday announcement by DWD follows from that executive order and guidance from Biden’s Department of Labor.

Wisconsinites who weren’t previously denied federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance can also apply under the expanded eligibility. However, they’ll be limited in the number of weeks of back payments they can claim.

President Biden on Tuesday is expected to sign an executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 by March 2022.

At that time, the order will result in a 37-percent raise for federal contractors making the current contracting minimum $10.95, and setting their salary at over double the regular statutory federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009.

Biden’s order would also phase out the tipped minimum wage, which stands at $7.25 by 2024, and set minimum wages for workers with disabilities on par with the standard minimum wage for contractors.

Federal agencies will have to begin incorporating the new wages into their contract solicitations by January 30, 2022, for implementation no later than March 30.

The new wages will apply to existing and multi-year contractors when their contracts receive their annual renewals, meaning some workers won’t see the benefits until later in the year.

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.

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.